Loss of the Chosen One
by Sonic the Saiyan
Summary: Sacrificing himself in what appears to be a failed attempt to save the one he loved, Ash is rescued by an unlikely source, and made to continue living his life to service the beings of the world. Staying in solitude at his pain and guilt of failure, he leaves everyone and everything he knew behind, but what happens when fate brings him back to where they all are? Advanceshipping
1. Return to Pallet

**Hello! For those of you who are not familiar with this side of me, I am an avid fan of Advanceshipping. My main story may not have a hint of shipping of any sort, but this is going to be my test to stack myself up against the titans such as Advance4Ever and Basic Trainer. Quick note, this story will also be my way of paying homage to Time Can't Heal Every Pain by The Legendary Mew, R.I.P (for the story, not the author). For those of you who grew up reading it, I hope you enjoy it, and for those of you who didn't, I'm sorry you didn't get that experience.** _ **Ahem,**_ **now that that's all out of the way, let us begin!**

 **Disclaimer: I hope it goes without saying, but I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

It was a gorgeous day on Route 1. The sun was high in the sky, yet the early Spring weather kept it from being too hot. The trees, grass, and bushes on the sides of the paths were a vibrant green, the berries in the high branches adding spots of color. The sky was not completely cloudless, but the spotted white fluff up in the air made it all the more enjoyable.

Down along the path, a young boy in a blue jacket with a red and white cap walked along, the Yellow Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu waddling along beside him.

Fresh from a great journey in Unova, and a nice cooldown with an amazing tour through the Decolore Islands, Ash Ketchum was returning home at last. He was greatly looking forward to seeing his mom and all of his old Pokemon again, and couldn't wait.

However, his grumbling stomach told him differently. With a growl that could easily be mistaken as an Ursaring's roar, his body let him know that it was running on empty.

"Whoops" Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Pikachu stood on the ground chuckling, until its stomach let out a roar comparable to his trainer's.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's hungry, huh buddy?" he asked Pikachu, who replied by mimicking Ash and rubbing the back of it's head.

Ash looked down the road. "If I remember this place right, then we still have about half an hour until we get to Pallet Town." He turned to his partner. "Hey Pikachu, lunch break?"

"Chaaaa" Pikachu squealed in response, obviously liking the idea.

"Okay, let's see what we've got" Ash said, taking his backpack off of his shoulders and digging around inside. "Huh?" he said, as all he could retrieve was a mostly spent bag of bread. "Whoops, I guess most of the food we ever had was with Cilan."

"Pi…" Pikachu moaned in disappointment.

Ash stood up and thought for a moment. "Hey buddy, what if we used this bread and some of those Oran and Pecha Berries in the trees to make some Berry Sandwiches?"

"Pi?" Pikachu perked up, his ears going straight into the air.

Ash looked around and located the nearest Berry Tree. "Alright. Pikachu, use Quick Attack to climb that tree, and knock down some berries with your Iron Tail" Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it ran towards the tree. As it drew closer, its speed increased and it left a white trail behind it, until it was going so fast, you could only see the trail. Pikachu jumped and ran up the vertical trunk, then spinning and knocking some berries towards Ash with a metal colored tail.

Ash ran around frantically, using his hat to catch all the berries in, only narrowly catching some of them. Once his hat began to sag from all the berries in it, he figured that they had enough to make some sandwiches to last them until Pallet. "Alright Pikachu, that's good, come on down!"

Pikachu's head popped up from among the leaves on the tree. "Cha!" it cried as it leapt from the branches down onto Ash's head.

Ash grabbed the bread and set his cap full of berries down on the ground. He pulled out a couple of plastic plates that he had been using, and got to work making a few sandwiches for himself and Pikachu.

"Well, it's not a full 3-course meal like Brock or Cilan could whip out of thin air," Ash said jokingly, "but this should still be good."

He handed one plate to Pikachu and picked one up himself, then sat down with his back to a small ledge from a hill overlooking them. Ash sat there, enjoying the sweet juices from the Oran and Pecha Berries, and watched as Pidgeys flew through the bright sky, and as Rattata and Nidoran wandered through the fields laid out in front of them.

As Ash and Pikachu finished their sandwiches and stood back up, their desire to reach Pallet Town grew even stronger as they now had fuel in their tanks.

"Hey Pikachu" Ash said, looking at his partner.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Race ya" Ash said, taking off down the road at top speed.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu called out, racing down after him.

* * *

 _ **Pallet Town**_

* * *

" _Huff, huff, huff_ " Ash panted as he came to the crest of the hill overlooking Pallet Town. His little race had only tired him out, and provoked a little victory dance from the Yellow Mouse a few yards down the hill from him.

"Hey, you used Quick Attack to beat me here, didn't you?" Ash said. Pikachu sniggered. "Hey, that's cheating. You know that humans can't use that" he complained. When Pikachu only laughed harder, Ash smirked as an evil idea came into his head. He reached down to his belt and grabbed a Pokeball with a small lightning bolt icon on it. "Oh Pikachu…" he called out in a singsong voice.

Pikachu had to sit up and wipe the tears out of its eyes from how hard it was laughing, but it dropped dead silent when it saw the Pokeball in Ash's hands. Pikachu's expression turned to shock as it looked hard into Ash's eyes, determining whether or not Ash would really do it.

When Ash's thumb moved slightly towards the button in the center of the ball, Pikachu bolted away, sprinting down the hill full throttle. However, it stopped when it realized that Ash wasn't chasing him, and was instead rolling in laughter as Pikachu himself had just been.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu said angrily, cheeks sparking. "CHUUUUU!" it cried, sending a powerful Thunderbolt at Ash.

With a lightshow that lit up the sky with electricity, Ash's turn at laughter came to a very painful end as he was fried to a crisp by the Thunderbolt attack. The only sound that came out of Ash's mouth after that was a cough which expelled some soot from his mouth. Afterwards, Ash collapsed to the ground.

Ash's vision was blurry from the electric shock he had just received. "Wow, I haven't been testing just how strong Pikachu's Thunderbolt has been getting lately" he mumbled through his crispy mouth.

Ash lay there for a few moments, trying to figure out whether he was paralyzed, or just drained for the moment. A couple minutes went by, and while he had not come any closer to solving this problem, he did hear some hurried footsteps come up to him.

"I had a feeling that that was you as soon as I saw that Thunderbolt, Ash" a familiar male voice said. Ash glanced to the side and saw the Pokemon Watcher Tracy standing next to him. "What happened?"

"Me and Pikachu were messing around" Ash said, and Tracy grasped the meaning of this immediately.

"Oh, for a second, I thought that you had Team Rocket on your tail again" Tracy chuckled, reaching a hand out to help Ash up.

Ash gratefully accepted the help getting up. "Nah, just Pikachu being a sore winner" he chuckled, brushing off his pants as he stood. He turned and looked at Pikachu. "This isn't over" he warned the rodent.

Pikachu looked play fearful at this, then hopped onto Ash's shoulder, his jacket making a crunching sound as his weight settled on it.

"Heh, Pikachu got you good, huh?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry" Ash said. "I'll get him back."

"I would pay to see that" Tracy laughed.

The three of them began to walk down the path towards Professor Oak's Lab. "I've got to say, I love traveling, but it's really good to be home" Ash said. "What's been going on around here lately?"

"Not much" Tracy responded. "We've had a few new trainers come by the lab to start their journey lately, and almost all of them chose Charmanders. They've been all anyone wanted as their starters since Mega Evolution made its way this side of Kalos."

"Mega Evolution?" Ash asked, curious.

"Yeah, it's an ancient technique from the Kalos region, where a Pokemon can enter an alternate form during battle" Tracy explained.

"Wow, Alexa told me a bit about Kalos, but she didn't even mention that" Ash said in awe.

Tracy laughed. "Yeah, Charizard became really popular because it had two different ones. One of them gave it the Dragon typing, so it got all sorts of excitement."

"Wow, that sounds really cool" Ash said. "So what's been going on with you?"

"Well, both Marill and Venonat evolved into Azumarill and Venomoth" Tracy said excitedly. "They seemed really proud of it, although Azumarill keeps forgetting how big it is now. I can't tell you how many times its floored me trying to jump onto my shoulder." Ash chuckled. "Yeah, and Misty's been coming by to hang out more often. Her Azurill loves to be around Azumarill."

"Well, isn't Azumarill Azurill's mom?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, that's probably why" Tracy said. "Although it seems a bit odd, considering that I gave Azurill to Misty when she was still an egg. I guess a baby pokemon will always recognize its mother."

"Speaking of Misty," Ash smiled mischievously, "how long have you two been hanging out?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

"Wha-wha-what do you mean?" Tracy stuttered, blushing lightly and sweating.

"Come on, I know that she likes you" Ash said, laughing lightly at Tracy's reaction. "She always liked traveling when we were with you, even better than when we were travelling with Brock. Except when you were sketching other girls."

"Hey, you know that a Pokemon Watcher can't-"

"-Always just sketch Pokemon, yeah you've said that before Tracy" Ash laughed.

Tracy fell silent for a moment, and stared at the ground as they walked down towards Prof. Oak's Lab. He looked back at Ash and asked "Do you really think that she likes me?"

"I'm pretty sure, Tracy" Ash said. "I never saw here have that much interest in anyone else for as long as I've known her."

Tracy let out a breath. "You know, Ash, when you came back from your Battle Frontier quest about a year ago, you were still dense as ever." Now it was Tracy's turn for a mischievous grin. "Is this your way of saying that you found someone?"

Ash stumbled when he heard this. "What, what do you mean, 'found someone?'"

Tracy chuckled at the priceless expression on Ash's face. "Come on, a year ago, the only types of 'love' that you knew about were family or food related. Now here you are, cracking jokes and noticing another girl's interest in me. Come on, who is it?"

"I don't know what you mean, Tracy" Ash said, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"You say that, but your face says otherwise" Tracy taunted.

Ash searched for a response, but he used up all of his ammo teasing Tracy about Misty. Instead, he became very interested in the ground for the next few minutes.

The next few minutes went by in silence, as Ash was to embarrassed to say anything, and Tracy had let up on the subject. The silence was broken as they came to the foot of a hill. "Here's the Professor's Lab" Tracy said.

Ash looked up and saw the familiar sight of the large, red roofed building with the windmill behind it, just atop the hill.

"Oh man, I can't wait to see Professor Oak and all my Pokemon again" Ash said excitedly, taking off up the path to the lab.

"Wait, Ash!" Tracy tried to warn him, but it was too late, Ash was already at the door and running inside. Well, attempting to, anyways.

"MUUUUUUUKKKK!" a wall of purple sludge cried out as it descended upon Ash, submerging him completely.

Tracy gasped and ran up. "Come on, Muk, don't do that. You'll suffocate him!"

Muk looked abashed and slowly retracted himself, revealing a floored Ash. He stood up, chuckling lightly. "That's two of my Pokemon to knock me down in the last fifteen minutes. Should I even risk being seen by my Tauros?"

Tracy chuckled. "Come on, Ash, cut them some slack. They haven't seen you since you left for Unova."

Ash looked at his 'innocent' Pikachu on his shoulder. "Some of them haven't" he said.

Pikachu sniggered.

Tracy put his hands on his hips. "So Ash, why did you come here instead of going home first? I'm sure your mom really wants to see you too, you know."

"Yeah, but I figured that my pals from Unova would want to get out and stretch" Ash said. "They haven't been out of their balls since we docked in Kanto."

"Fair enough" Tracy said. "I assume you remember the way out to the fields?"

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't forget in a million years" Ash said. He took off down the hallway through the lab, racing for the back door.

Tracy set himself down at the desk. "Well, I would love to follow him, but I have to get to work."

As he settled in for his work, Ash was sprinting out into the Oak Corral where all of his Pokemon lived. He hadn't been trampled, yet, but he was still on guard in case of rampaging Pokemon wanting hugs.

He reached down to his belt and pulled each ball off. "Okay gang, come ooooon out!" he shouted, tossing the group into the air. Charizard, Leavanny, Oshawott, Pignite, and Scraggy come flying out of their Pokeballs, landing on the ground before him and looking around at their surroundings. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and ran off into the woods.

Ash looked at his Unova team. "Aright guys, here it is, we're home!"

Charizard spewed a Flamethrower into the air as the rest of them danced around excitedly.

Ash smiled at the celebrations. "Yeah, I bet you missed this place, huh Charizard?" he asked. Charizard responded with a nod. "The rest of you, how about you go explore. Go and meet your new family?"

The gang was out of sight before you could say 'Sudowoodo', anxious to explore their new home and meet Ash's old partners as he had suggested.

Ash, contrary to the others, took his time strolling through the pasture, soaking in all the old memories he had here. In the distance, he could see other trainer's Pokemon flocking about, but he hadn't come across any of his yet.

He had just closed his eyes to feel the almost familiar sense of sunlight, as if it had a completely different feel here, when he heard the bushes behind him rustle.

His eyes shot open and he looked into the branches. "Who's there?" he asked. The bushes rustled again, and he barely had time to blink before a blur of yellow flew out and tackled him.

"WHA!" Ash cried in surprise. He hit the ground as the new being fell on top of him. Before he could see clearly again, he felt a warm head nuzzling the side of his own. "Baaaayyy…" it cooed.

Ash began to smile. "Hey Bayleef!" he said, reaching up and stroking her neck.

Bayleef retracted and looked into Ash's face, smiling. "Bayleef Bay!" it cried. Bayleef leaned forward and began gently licking Ash's cheek.

"Heh heh, that tickles Bayleef" Ash chuckled. Bayleef smiled at Ash again, then looked up behind him just as a new voice appeared. "Well, I thought I heard you out here, Ash!"

Bayleef got off of Ash so he could roll over onto his feet. Professor Oak stood near the door to the fields, smiling serenely at the scene. "Hey, good to see you, Professor!" Ash said.

"Good to see you too, Ash" Oak responded. "How was your trip through the Decolore Islands?"

"It was amazing, there were so many new places and Pokemon there" Ash marveled. "It was even cooler than the Orange Islands."

"Glad to hear it" Oak said. "Say, if you're looking for your other Pokemon, they tend to group together on the other side of the forest, right where it meets the lakes."

"Cool, thanks for that Professor!" Ash said gratefully, turning to run off again.

"Ah, to be young, and so full of energy" Oak sighed. "How I wish that I could still run through these fields like that" he said as he turned back inside.

Ash wove through the trees, almost clipping himself a few times, but nothing was stopping him from getting to see his Pokemon. AS he ran, he heard the branches move above, and saw his Noctowl flying above him. He waved at Noctowl as he ran. "Hey, Noctowl, I'm trying to find the others!"

Noctowl nodded and took off just ahead of Ash, guiding him through the foliage. A couple more minutes of jogging led Ash to the edge of a clearing. Down in the lake, Kingler, Totodile, and Palpitoad relaxed in the water, while the rest of his Pokemon were resting on the land. Buizel was chasing Corphish around, Torterra laid on the ground, Swellow and Staraptor roosting in his branches, Infernape and Sceptile were sparring, and the rest of them were wandering through the fields.

Ash ran down to them. "Hey everyone, guess who?" he shouted.

All heads turned his way. Torterra's eyes snapped open, Sceptile stopped mid swing, but Infernape didn't, striking Sceptile. Sceptile looked back at Infernape and started bickering with him, until it amounted to Sceptile opened its mouth and shot a barrage of Bullet Seeds at Infernape, who responded angrily with Flame Wheel.

"Hey, come on guy-" Ash tried to say before he was mobbed by the rest of his Pokemon as they stampeded him. This commotion got the attention of the two, and they lowered their arms and called truce before running to join the mass.

It was a while before Ash was able to calm his Pokemon down enough to where he could stand up. By that time, Pikachu found his way over to the group and hopped onto Ash's shoulder, waving to all the other Pokemon.

"I can't tell you guys how good it is to finally see you all again" Ash smiled. "Unova is great, but right here is where my home is, and that's better than any journey I could go on."

"I think that I'm going to hang out around here for a while, so you guys are going to be stuck with me until then" Ash said to his Pokemon's delight. "I want to spend some time here before I head off again, because I've been leaving almost as soon as I've gotten home these last few times."

"Now, I brought some new friends over from Unova, I want you guys to be nice and welcome them, ok?" Ash asked. A chorus of cries in response gave him his answer. "Good."

Ash stayed at the corral for a few hours, playing with his Pokemon, who had missed him dearly. However, as the sun began to dip low in the sky, he realized that he needed to get going. "I want to hang around longer, but I do have to get home. My mom probably wants to see me as much as you did. But don't worry, I'll come see you guys soon!"

All his Pokemon cheered him off as we turned to go back home. He didn't get much time with them, but he was glad that he was able to see them at least. Ash ran to the side of the field and jumped over the fence, landing on the road beside the corral. Pikachu stood on top of the fence, running alongside Ash.

"Hey Pikachu, I understand if you want to stay with the gang tonight" Ash said as he jogged along.

"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked, smiling.

As the neared the edge of the fence, Ash said one last thing. "And don't worry, I still remember earlier" he said evilly.

Pikachu's eyes went wide, but just then, the fence came to an end as it connected to the lab, and Pikachu, who was watching Ash, ran headlong into it.

Ash couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Pikachu stand back up, rubbing its head and squealing out what could only be curse words. "That one doesn't count, Pikachu, you did that to yourself!" he shouted back.

"Pika…" Pikachu grumbled as it turned away.

"Heh heh" Ash chuckled as he ran off. "Maybe I should bring him a bottle of ketchup, but replace the ketchup with hot sauce. Or, maybe the next time Dawn comes over, I'll have Bulbasaur restrain him with Vine Whip so that he can't get away from her Buneary." He couldn't help but let out another laugh as he imagined how horrified Pikachu's face would be if he heard that.

* * *

 _ **Arrival at Ketchum Residence**_

* * *

Ash came up panting after his jog, but even his tired body couldn't stop him from rushing up to the house and pulling the door open. "Hey Mom, I'm home!" he shouted into the house.

"Ash, is that you?" a voice came from the other room.

"Yeah Mom!" he answered back, walking through the house looking for her. "Unova was amazing, I wish that you could've seen it."

He rounded the corner into the living room and saw his mom sitting on the couch.

She stood up to greet him. "Oh my, every time you come back from one of your journeys, no matter how long, you always look so much older to me."

Ash smiled and ran forward, hugging his mom. "It's great to be home, Mom. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Ash" Delia said, hugging her son back. "I hope that you'll stick around for more than a day this time."

"Yeah, I am, Mom" Ash said. "I was in Unova a lot longer than I was anywhere else, and now that I'm back, I don't have the urge to leave so soon again."

"That's great to hear" Delia smiled. "So, how well did my little boy do in the Unova league?"

"I made it all the way into the quarterfinals again" Ash said. "And the guy I was facing, he's a really great trainer. He beat me with only five of his Pokemon."

"Wow, really?" Delia asked, motioning for Ash to come sit down.

Ash obliged. "Yeah, he was a friend I met later on. He's, well, really special" Ash chuckled, remembering the main reason that Cameron tried so hard to win with just five Pokemon was because he thought that the round only used five.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you made more friends along the way. By the way, where are to pair that you were travelling with there? I was hoping that I would get to meet them" his mom said.

"Well, they both went off to explore Johto when we got here" Ash explained. "The Magnet Train was leaving soon and they had to hop on."

"Oh, well that's too bad" Delia said. "Well, I hope that they do well also. In the meantime, how about some dinner?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Ash cheered, hopping up.

"Oh, my boy. Always so enthusiastic about his food." Delia chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder whether you love me or my cooking more."

Ash laughed at this. However the particular phrase that his mother had used ignited a bit of memory from earlier that very day.

" _Is this your way of saying that you, found someone?"_

" _What, what do you mean, 'found someone?'"_

 _Tracy chuckled at the priceless expression on Ash's face. "Come on, a year ago, the only types of 'love' that you knew about were family or food related. Now here you are, cracking jokes and noticing another girl's interest in me. Come on, who is it?"_

Ash cleared his throat. "I'm going to go wash up before dinner, Mom" he said.

"Alright Ash" Delia said. "I'll be down here if you need me."

Ash nodded, then proceeded to walk up the stairs. He slung his backpack off in his room and grabbed his black shirt and pajama bottoms out of his dresser. Then, knowing what his mom would say if she even saw him before he hopped in the shower, he grabbed a pair of underwear too.

" _Don't forget to wear clean underwear!"_ her voice seemed to haunt him.

"Every single time I called her" Ash sighed, facepalming.

 **...**

As he bathed himself, he couldn't stop thinking about his conversation from earlier. "So what if I know what love is now?" he thought. "Just because I grew up a little bit doesn't mean that I'm actually, well, _in_ love."

His mind backtracked through all the times he was called dense by everyone that he had travelled with or met along the road. "Yeah, I was a little dense then, I was only 10 though. Isn't a part of growing up just getting knowledge here and there?"

He shook his head, splattering the sides of the shower with water. "Yeah. If I, well, _liked_ somebody, then I think that I would know about it, of all people. Who would it even be?"

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, it took over. It was as if a picture was becoming clear through the steam rising into the air, as if he were flying through the clouds, and they parted, revealing a landscape below.

It was Hoenn, he knew it immediately. What else could it be? With its gorgeous waterways and beautiful forests, he was sure of it. Almost without thinking, he floated down, into the trees that lay between Oldale Town and Petalburg City.

As he cleared to branches, he saw a path winding through the woods, a narrow, dirt path. As he touched down, he began to hear voices coming down the path. He turned his head, and he saw, himself.

To be more exact, he saw a younger version of himself in the outfit he wore at the beginning of his Hoenn journey. Walking next to him, he saw…

Beauty, that was the only way he could describe it. Time seemed to go by in slow motion as he drank in every detail of her appearance. Her young, pretty face, her bright, yet deep sapphire eyes, her pristine red and white bandana, everything.

He now realized that he remembered this. This was him and May, at the very beginning of his trek through the Hoenn Region. It was just after they passed through Oldale town, that night they spent at the Pokemon Center there. Before they reached Petalburg City, before he met her family, before Max tagged along with them, before Brock came back to them. It was just him, and her.

He remembered every detail about her. Her small yet radiant smile, her infectious laugh, her caring, almost motherly attitude towards her Pokemon, and the close bond that they had developed in Hoenn and Kanto. He remembered how she was the only person who ever could challenge him in how much he could eat, how she was one of the only people he knew who had a passion for their dreams to match his. He remembered how hard it had been to let her go, go off to Johto, and how joyful he felt when they had reunited, if only briefly, in Sinnoh.

As he thought about May, his mind flashed through their greatest moments together. He thought of all the times that he had taught her the ropes to becoming a Pokemon Trainer, and how she reminded him of himself at the beginning of his own journey. Fresh on the road, not sure about how to do anything, but never giving up, no matter how hard things got. He remembered how rather than feel upset that May chose to be a Coordinator, rather than a Trainer like himself, he felt happy for her, knowing that she had found her calling.

All of these thoughts were rushing through Ash's head, one after another. He felt the same energy that he felt whenever he would cheer May on at one of her contests, and the sense of closeness that he felt with her up to the very end, and how he felt their bond grow even stronger the second that Sceptile's Leaf Blade went up, cutting the Terracotta Ribbon in half for the two of them.

Ash realized that while the shower he was in was getting cold, he felt extremely warm, and he had a strange feeling in his chest. Light but heavy, fuzzy and dizzying, a feeling that filled him to the brim, yet left him feeling empty inside. He shook his head and turned the water off, stepping out of the shower. He looked in the mirror and saw that his cheeks were flushed, almost inflamed looking.

He tried to shake things out of his head as he grabbed a towel to dry off, but no matter what he focused on, he always saw her in the back of his mind. She wouldn't leave him be, and while he thought he would be annoyed, he almost felt, sad, as if he wished she were there with him. He dried himself off and got dressed before heading down to dinner.

 **...**

"Alright, Mister, what is it?"

Ash's Mom had prepared a whole feast for his homecoming. There was tons of everything, mashed potatoes, rolls, chicken, peas, you name it. All of Ash's favorites were there, yet rather than tear into it like he normally would, he was picking at it.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Ash asked.

"Well, any other time that you've come home, you ate so fast that a wild Tauros would be afraid to come near your mouth" Delia said. "But here you are, actually _chewing_ your food. Are you sick? Does your stomach hurt? Are you on a diet?"

Ash gulped. "Nothing's wrong, Mom. I guess that I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was" he said.

"Mmm hmm?" Delia asked. "You know, you look a bit red. You could have a fever. Should I maybe take you to the doctor?"

"What? No, Mom, there's no need for that!" Ash said loudly, waving his hands.

"Ok, Ash, if you say so?" Delia said. But in her mind, she was thinking "Why do children always take their parents for fools? It's not my business to pry into everything, but I know what's up."

She looked across the table at her son, who appeared to be making an attempt to eat more, to ward off any suspicions. "Oh, I know exactly what he's showing. He's not hungry, he's flushed, he's quiet, and he's hardly looking me in the eye while we're talking. Either he's got the flu, or my little baby has a crush" she mentally squealed.

She cleared her throat. "So, I decided to call up your friends to see who could come over for a little 'Welcome Home Party'" she said.

Ash nodded, taking a bite of of a chicken leg.

Delia leaned back in her chair, observing him closely. "I called Brock and Misty first. They really wanted to come, but they're not sure that they will be able to, because Brock is taking over the Gym for his brother since he got sick, and Misty's Gym is backed up with challengers, and they needed every one of them who could qualify as a Leader. Of course, they will do their best to make it." Ash nodded, and she went on. "So next I called May…" she began, but trailed off a bit when she said May's name. She couldn't pinpoint it, but something changed in Ash's expression and posture. "...And she said that I called at the perfect time, because she had just earned her final ribbon in Goldenrod city, but the Grand Festival isn't for another three months, so she said that she's going to catch the next Magnet Train over."

Ash's attention was definitely peaked now, and right then she knew, that May was the one. She didn't let on, though, and continued as if she didn't see anything. "As for Dawn, she said that she could probably make it over if she can find a plane or boat leaving soon enough, since Hoenn is a bit further away than Johto. Gary said that he was busy investigating some strange happenings at Mount Coronet in Sinnoh for Professor Rowan, so there was no way for him to make it."

Ash cleared his throat and looked up. "So May is the only one who is going to be here for sure?" he asked, a back tone of hopefulness in his voice.

Delia nodded. "Yes, although Misty, Brock, and Dawn are going to try if they can."

Ash nodded again. He took one more bite of food on his plate then stood up. "Wow, Mom, that was great, but I'm really full and tired, so I think that I'm going to go to bed."

"Alright sweety, sweet dreams" Delia said as Ash walked up the stairs.

"You too Mom" he said.

As soon as Ash was out of sight, Delia turned around and chuckled in her hand. "Oh, young love. Ash's father and I were the same way when we were kids." She looked over the table at the mountains of food that were still there. She frowned, then said "Well I don't plan to go to bed anytime soon, and the more the merrier." She reached over and picked up the phone. She dialed in the number then waited. "Hey Tracy! Yeah, it's Ash's mom. Hey, would you and Samuel like to come over for dinner? Sure, anytime works. It's all made, and I wouldn't mind some company since Ash turned in early. Ok, see you two in a few minutes."

She put the phone back and went to step outside into the dusky sky. She could see the glow of what could only either be Charizard or Infernape up the hill by Oak Laboratories. A minute passed, and a small light could be seen on the building, what must have been the door opening for the two to come down. She smiled as she thought of the revelations she had about her son tonight. She sat down on the porch to wait for her company to arrive, and went over her findings.

"I sure hope that he really does like her" Delia said. "She seemed like such a nice girl when I met her."

* * *

 _ **The Next Morning**_

* * *

Ash had gotten out of the house early in the morning, running out and up to the lab to go see his Pokemon. He had left a note in the kitchen telling his mom where he had gone so that she wouldn't worry. It was a fairly chilly day, as the sky had been dark gray ever since he had woken up.

Ash hopped the fence into the pasture and ran around the back of the lab. He saw Pikachu curled up in the middle of the grass, surrounded by another Trainer's Jolteon and his own Donphan. Since they were still asleep, he tried to step quietly, yet Pikachu's ears still perked up as Ash came close.

"Pika!" Pikachu squealed softly, running over to Ash and climbing up his leg, onto his shoulder.

"Hey, good morning buddy" Ash said softly, scratching Pikachu under the chin, causing him to coo lightly. "Did you have a good time here last night?"

Pikachu nodded with a smile. "Pikachu."

"Glad to hear it" Ash said. "Hey, you want to help out with some training today?"

Pikachu's ears perked up. "Pi!" it affirmed.

"Awesome" Ash responded simply. "Who should we train with first?"

Pikachu struck a thinking pose, then his eyes popped open. "Pika Pika, Pikachu Pi!"

"Tauros and Donphan?" Ash asked. "Alright, then them it will be!"

* * *

 _ **Hours Later**_

* * *

"Alright, Tauros, now use Headbutt! Donphan, use Rollout!" Ash shouted.

Tauros pawed the ground, then dashed forward, its head lowered as it charged. Donphan jumped into the air, then curled up into a ball, the peeled out towards Tauos. The two collided in a powerful clash of their attacks, a struggle taking place for who would succeed. However, Donphan eventually won out, flinging Tauros' head up and slamming into its chest, sending it backwards, panting.

Ash stepped forward. "Great job guys. Tauros, your Headbutt is really coming along. You should go rest now, maybe get some water from the lake."

Tauros mooed at Ash, then turned and trotted off. Ash turned to Donphan. "And Donphan, you must have been practicing your Rollout for a long time, because it's gotten a ton stronger. You go and rest too."

Donphan came forward and nuzzled Ash's leg for a moment before stomping off in the same direction as Tauros. Just as it went out of sight, Ash heard clapping behind him. "Wow, nicely done Ash, you're still the same amazing Trainer I saw in Sinnoh."

Ash's heart nearly stopped when he heard the voice, the one that had been pervading his thoughts ever since last night. Ash turned around and saw none other than May Maple leaning over the fence and watching him. She was dressed as she had in the past, in a red skirt and blue cycling shorts, with her red bandana tied upon her head. She had a huge smile on her face as she looked into the corral.

Ash's shock gradually turned to an indescribable joy as he ran over to the fence to greet her. "May, it's great to see you!" he nearly shouted.

"You sure about that? You don't sound excited enough" May said. "Joking, it's pretty great to see you too. I heard you just got back from Unova, how was it?"

At the sound of her voice, Ash's mind went almost blank. His last bit of consciousness down in his mind tried desperately to get back in control. "Come on, what's going on?" he thought.

"Hello? Ash, are you in there?" May's voice came into his head.

Ash cleared his head. "Sorry. Yeah, it was amazing" Ash said. "There were so many new Pokemon there, and so many cool competitions and sights."

"That's awesome. I bet you didn't have any trouble up until the League, judging by how your Pokemon moved out there, did you?" May smiled.

Ash couldn't help but let his cheeks turn pink at the compliment. "Well, that's not entirely true. There was a Gym Leader there so strong, that her Gym Battles were all 3 on 6, and I still barely got my badge there."

"Wow, that's pretty tough" May laughed. "Johto's been great to me, all the contests were challenging, but I managed to get all the Ribbons I needed with plenty of time to spare." She took out her Ribbon Case and opened it, revealing five gorgeous Ribbons in pristine condition.

"Wow, you're really doing great ever since you went off the Johto, huh?" Ash asked with just a twinge of pain in his heart. He knew that she was doing just fine without him.

May shrugged. "Oh, you know how any journey is. You have little hiccups and accidents everywhere, but that's what makes them fun. And travelling through a region alone isn't nearly as fun as it was travelling with you and Brock" she said, a light color appearing in her cheeks.

That twinge disappeared as he heard these words. "Yeah, I wish that we could do it all over again."

"Who knows, maybe if you're around after I finish my Grand Festival, I might be able to travel with you wherever next" she said happily.

Ash felt a sort of balloon fill in his chest at these words. He would love nothing more that to travel with May again. His travels with her, he felt, had some sort of quality that he never field when he had traveled with Misty, Brock, Dawn, or Iris and Cilan. "That would be great" he said.

May laughed. "So, this is supposed to be your day to have fun. What do you want to do?"

"Oh, I, uh…" Ash said, stumped. He hadn't really thought much about what he had wanted to do today.

"Come on, Ash, are you telling me that you have no idea?" May laughed.

Ash's heart nearly pumped out of his chest when he heard her laugh, a single, clear note in the air. For a moment, the feeling was so intense, he stopped breathing. He mentally slapped himself, trying to get a grip on his feelings. "What the heck is going on with me?" he wondered. "Sorry, I just wasn't really thinking about it. I came here to train with my Pokemon as soon as I woke up" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, you were never very good with planning anything but a battle" May giggled.

"Hey!" Ash protested.

"Joking" May laughed, pushing Ash's shoulder. "I'll give you a moment to think."

Ash nodded, thinking of anything he could to come up with an idea. He was deeply aware of how long it was taking him to brainstorm an idea. Pallet Town, after all, was a very small town.

"I don't know, maybe we could go for a hike" Ash suggested. "Maybe up around to Pallet Heights. I haven't been up there since before I started my journey."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea" May said. "I bet Pallet Town looks beautiful from up there."

"Yeah, it does" Ash said, remembering the beautiful sunny days atop the cliffsides, just him and his Mom. Although, he noticed, looking at the sky, it wasn't exactly a sunny day.

"So, anyone else here yet?" May asked.

"Well, no one else, no. It would just be the two of us up there" Ash said, looking down slightly while blushing.

"Oh, just us?" May asked, her face reddening as well.

"Yeah, none of the others were able to make it" Ash said. "So how about it?"

May swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, sounds great."

Ash climbed over the fence and hopped down next to May. He looked back and called out "Pikachu, we'll be back soon."

"Pika Bi!" Pikachu waved them off as they set off down the path.

As the headed for the edge of town, they were quiet with each other. Neither of them knew why, but the atmosphere between them felt odd.

Ash was the first to break the silence. "So, have you caught any new Pokemon since we last met up?" he asked.

"Actually, yeah" May said. "I've only caught one new Pokemon, but she's really good in contests."

"Wow, can I see her?" Ash asked.

"I actually don't have her on me" May said. "I only brought Blaziken when I came over. But I can tell you what it is. She's the most adorable little Flaaffy that you've ever seen."

"Oh, I haven't seen a Flaaffy in a long time" Ash said.

"She's a natural" May bragged. "She's got this appeal that gets the judges each time, a combination of Cotton Spore, Power Gem, and Discharge. It starts off by spreading the spores, then lighting them up with the electricity, and the the Power Gem pierces through all of them and makes them burst into glittering particles."

"That sounds like a pretty awesome combo" Ash complimented.

"You bet it is" May said, blushing lightly.

The two kept talking about May's new Flaaffy until they reached the base of the hiking trail. Ash turned to May. "Hey May?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Race ya'" he said, running up the path and scampering up the cliff face.

"Hey, no fair, you got a head start" May complained, taking off after the raven haired trainer.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

* * *

"*gulp* *gulp* *gulp*" Ash swallowed gallons of water, panting hard, having just gone full throttle all the way up to the top of the cliff.

"Heh, heh, you really haven't been slacking, huh Ash" May puffed out. "I didn't expect you to make it up so fast. How did you do it?"

"Well, Unova had a lot rougher areas than the other regions, so I had to get better at getting around" Ash said.

"Yeah, I guess" May said. "You climbed up so fast, I was almost wondering of you were an Ariados."

"Hey, I'm no Bug-Type" Ash protested.

May laughed. "Lighten up, Ash, it was only a joke."

Ash suddenly became very interested in his shoes. "Oh, right…"

There was silence for a moment, then Ash looked back up. "So, should we go see the view?"

May nodded. "Yeah, let's check it out."

The two walked across the tip of the mountainside, back towards the direction that led to Pallet Town. The flat area at the top of the rim was quite nice, having thick green bushes and tall standing trees alongside the pathway. Rattata rested up in the trees, alongside Pidgey who had built their nests in the crooks of the branches.

May's breath caught. "Oh wow…"

As the pathway cleared, and the edge of the ridge grew near, the landscape below came into view. Even without the sun shining, it was beautiful. The waters of Route 21 glinted in the distance, the hills and paths of Route 1 rolled across the landscape, and all of Pallet Town was visible below, all the people and houses below on a miniature scale.

Ash looked down on the view. "It looks so much better when the sun is out, but still, it's been forever since I've been here."

"You know, the clouds do have a certain charm to them" May said breathlessly. "If this is a bad time for the view, then I can't wait to see it on a good one!"

May walked forward and sat down at the precipice, her feet hanging over the edge. Ash hesitated for a moment, then sat himself down right next to her. "Yeah, I can't wait to bring you up here when the conditions are just right. I remember, once my Mom took me up here, before I had even left for my journey. It was, well, amazing. It's one of my favorite memories."

May smiled. "It sure sounds like a good one, too" she said.

Ash's heart beat a little faster once more when he saw her smile. "I still have no idea what's going on with me" he thought. "My heart's pounding, I'm blushing, and I feel like I can't act normal around May."

Ash felt like he had been immobilized. "Could I really be sick? I feel weird, but not like I'm really ill. I wish I had someone I could talk to. Brock would probably know what's going on, with all of his doctor training." Then something clicked in Ash's head. "Wait, Brock always acted this way whenever he started going crazy over any woman he met. He always started blushing and losing control, acting all weird. Could it be that I… and, May..?"

"Hello?" Ash heard May's voice once more.

Ash came back to reality. The breeze on the cliff, Pallet town below, and May right next to him. "Ah, sorry May, I don't know what was going through my head" Ash said, although he knew it was a lie. "I, I've never acted or felt this way before, but I don't know the first thing about… that. Is it even possible that I could feel that?"

May looked out over the view. "So Ash, we are going to be here for a little while. What should we talk about?"

Ash swallowed and tried to act normal. "Actually, there was one thing that I was curious about, May, but it might be a bit personal."

May blushed a bit and looked confused. "Well, you can sure ask, Ash, and I'll do my best to answer if I want to talk about it."

Ash looked out over the town, took a breath, then began speaking. "Well, I know that when we first met, you said that you hated Pokemon. So, I was wondering, why exactly was that?"

May's expression became slightly guarded. "Oh, that." She looked down in an almost embarrassed look, then looked back at Ash. "Well, it's a bit silly. You know how my dad is a Gym Leader?"

Ash nodded, and she continued. "Well, he's also been a Gym Leader for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was, well, at least five. And because of his power as a trainer, and the fact that he was a Gym Leader, he was almost always working. Trainers came from all over, and were there all the time, challenging him, both because they were trying to earn a badge, and because of how famously strong he was. Well, because he had so many challengers, he never really had time for his family."

Ash looked at her in shock. From the way she had introduced her parents, he would never have guessed that she barely had any time with her dad. "Wow, I never knew, May…"

May nodded and looked on. "I didn't want to blame him, because he was my father, and so many of the trainers that challenged him were so polite and kind, that I didn't really want to be mad at them either. After all, they were only following their dreams. They didn't know that they were keeping a man away from his family. So I moved on to blame the only ones I could. I blamed the Pokemon, because if it wasn't for them, then not only would Dad have no challengers, but he wouldn't even have that job that kept him away."

Ash found it astounding that she had gone as far as to wish that Pokemon weren't around, but he couldn't help but feel sad for her as the story went on.

"As time went on, my father spent less and less time at home as he became more popular, and soon, it was like I didn't even know him anymore" May said, small traces of pain in her eyes as the memories were brought to the forefront of her mind. "The only reason I got my first Pokemon from Professor Birch was so I could get out of the house. You saw yourself, I had almost no desire for battling at the beginning. It wasn't until I got into contests and began actually bonding with my Pokemon until I got over it and began to understand just _why_ so many trainers came through. I had to learn how a Pokemon and Trainer were able to bond before I could get it. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to get there."

"Yeah, but once you got there, you have some of the closest relationships with your Pokemon that I've ever seen" Ash said confidently. "You may have not started out as a Pokemon lover, but ever since you became one, May, you've done so many awesome things."

May blushed lightly. "Wow, thanks Ash" she said lightly. "I had, no idea that you thought so highly of me. I mean, you were the one who taught me the ropes. Without you, I probably wouldn't even be a coordinator today. Heck, I would probably still only have one Pokemon and it would still be a Torchic."

"Oh, come on, May, I can't take all the credit for you successes" Ash said. "I didn't know much about Pokemon Coordinating, you did that all on your own."

May grinned and looked on. "Thank's Ash. You know, I've never really opened up to someone like that before. But I just felt like, it was easier, with you." She took a deep breath, then turned to Ash. "You know Ash, there was something that I've been wanting to tell you."

Ash was puzzled. "Sure, May. What is it?"

With an audible gulping sound, and a large red blush appearing on her cheeks she began to stutter out "Well, I-I jus-st wanted t-to s-say, I mean, I wanted t-to see…"

A howling wind swept across the clifftop. Both Ash and May had to put all their effort into not being blown off the precipice. Ash looked up and noticed that the smooth gray clouds that had been around since the morning had grown much darker, and much more jagged. There was now an extremely heavy wind, and all the makings of a massive storm.

"Hrrgh, this came out of nowhere" Ash grunted as the wind kicked up and rain started coming down in sheets, peppering them with water. It almost seemed dusk as the clouds had thickened without them noticing it.

Ash quickly hopped to his feet and extended his hand to May. May grabbed it and he pulled her up. "Come on, we better get back before it gets any worse!"

May nodded. "Yeah, let's get back to your house."

Ash and May began sprinting back towards the trail that led back down to Pallet Town. The wind threatened to knock them over at every second to the point where they had to try to fall forward in order to stay upright. Within seconds, the rain had doused them to their skin, and had their hair matted to their bodies. Lightning flashed all around them, blinding them every time it struck down, often at alarmingly close ranges.

One bolt struck down not ten yards to the side of them, cracking the ground and peppering them with the terrain. "This is worse than when Zekrom appeared in Unova" Ash had to nearly scream over the roar of the storm.

"Whatever that is, I bet you're right!" May yelled. "There could be nothing that could trump this."

Rattata ran, seeking shelter as the two arrived at the trailhead at the top of the mountain. May got on all fours and began climbing down the steep slope on the trail, with Ash right behind her. Lightning struck the top of the plateau above them once more, sending a light tremor through the ground beneath them. Small amounts of terrain shook loose and pattered down on their bodies.

The duo scrambled down the mountain as quickly as they could, rushing across narrow ledges and down thin handholds. The rocky mountainside was quickly becoming slick under the deluge of the storm above. As conditions rapidly grew worse, the urgency of making it off of the mountain intensified.

As they sprinted along the narrow edge that held the path down the mountain, the end of the trail was within sight, about 100 feet below their current point. The path winded back and forth down, leading to the end of the trail.

Ash looked down and saw how close they were to the bottom. "Come on, we're almost there" he muttered to himself.

As soon as he said that, he felt a slight shift in the atmosphere. Something had changed in the air, and his skin tingled. From the edge of his vision, he saw a bright flash of white light, ahead and above them. "May, look out!" he gasped.

A bolt of lightning struck down a mere few feet ahead of May. The ground split and shook, shaking the very ledge they were on. May stumbled as it struck the ground in front of her, teetering on the very edge of the path. The ground beneath her foot crumbled…

"ASH!" May screamed, falling off of the path towards the ground almost fifty feet below.

"No, MAY!" Ash yelled, diving forward and catching her hand as she plummeted. Barely grasping her hand, May held on with one arm for dear life as her body dangled over the drop.

Ash grunted and pulled hard as he slipped forward across the slick surface, the weight of May pulling him forward. He hooked his feet on some jagged rocks, catching himself, leaning forward as May slipped further down.

May slipped slightly further down through Ash's rain-slicked hands. "Ash, I don't think I can hold on!" she yelled.

Ash too slipped slightly further, as legs loosening around the jagged cliffside. He redoubled his grip on May's hands as he got closer to the edge. "Hrrgh, May, don't worry, I've got you!" Ash cried.

The ground shook as it was struck again, knocking Ash another foot forward. Straining his muscles to his full extent, he pulled upwards, but without any results. His position didn't allow him enough traction of pull May back up.

Suddenly, Ash's legs lost their hold on the slick rocky terrain and he slipped far forward, barely catching himself with his feet on very outmost edge of the path. His entire body hung down the cliff face, with May linked to him.

May gasped when he shifted. "Ash, I, I'm pulling you down" she said with fright. "I'm going to bring both of us down!"

"No, you won't, just hold on May" Ash grunted. "I can, I can save us."

One of Ash's feet came loose, but he was able to jam it back into place before he came too loose.

May shook her head. "Ash, you've saved me so many times before, but this time, you can't. All you're doing is dragging yourself down with me."

"May…" Ash said weakly.

May looked up with tears in her eyes. "Ash, I'm sorry, but this time, you can't save me."

"No, May, I can!" Ash said, pulling up as hard as he could.

"Ash…" May said, closing her eyes. "...Goodbye."

May's hand fell out of Ash's grip, as if in slow motion, towards the surface below. Each drop seemed to fall through syrup, and May began dropping, her tears falling upwards, contrasting the falling rain. Ash's hand stretched forward in a futile attempt to catch the falling girl.

Then time went back to normal. May dropped like a rock towards the distant ground below. The full dread and darkness of the storm came back into view, and she was out of reach.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!" Ash screamed.

May impacted the ground below, striking the surface and landing, unmoving.

Ash was frozen in shock, a silent scream of horror stuck in his throat. Lightning struck the mountain again, knocking Ash loose. Reacting on instinct, Ash swung around and caught the ledge, right side up. Looking down at May's body below, he felt a primal feeling built up inside him, a mixture of rage, sorrow, and fear. He suddenly released a scream, echoing through the area. "STARAPTOR, CHARIZARD, UNFEZANT, SWELLOW, ANYONE, HELP!"

His voice sounded weak and feeble, all but drowned out by the storm. A sense of dread settled in his heart. He climbed back onto the ledge and began sprinting down the mountain as speeds almost rivaling Pikachu's Quick Attack. He arrived down by May's side as fast as he could possibly reach her.

Ash cradled her body in his arms, the tears free falling from his eyes intermixing with the sheets of rain falling from the sky. "May…" he muttered shakily. His fingers brushed past her neck, and he received a huge shock. A small, infinitesimal movement took place within her neck. A pulse! "May, there's still a chance!" he thought.

Ash heard a faint roar over the sound of the monsoon. A feeble orange light glinted in the haze, and the roar sounded again. Charizard came dashing out of the clouds, down towards Ash.

Ash's sense of joy at his Pokemon's coming couldn't override the sense he felt at discovering May, clinging to life. "Charizard!" he yelled. "Take May! Take her to the hospital!"

Charizard looked down in shock at the body of the young coordinator, but didn't waste any time picking her up in his arms.

"Charizard, go at full speed the whole way, no matter what!" Ash commanded.

Charizard nodded. Spreading his wings wide, Charizard flapped them and took off into the air at great speeds, the flame at the tip of his tail flickering in the gale of the storm.

Ash didn't waste any time either, running down the path towards town, chasing after the Flame Pokemon in the sky as they both made their way to the Pallet Hospital. Adrenaline from fear kept his body in a constant motion, as if it were impossible for him to stop running. His mind kept replaying the moment where May slipped from his grasp over and over again, each time becoming more and more nightmarish than the last, as if his memory was being corrupted by his despair and sorrow.

"No, May, you have to hold on!" Ash thought. "I will not let you die, just like that. I will save you, every time, no matter what."

The dark sky almost completely cloaked his Pokemon from his view, but the bright orange light fixated on Charizard's tail provided a glow through the clouds. He watched as it descended through the sky, landing with the boundaries of the hospital, and disappear within.

Ash didn't let up. Pounding the pathway as he sped through town, Ash ignored the sodden weight of his clothes or the chill that pervaded his body from a source other than his experience. Nothing would prevent him from making it to his destination. From making it to the hospital. From making it to May.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it folks. The beginning of a new story. Often the one that the most pressure is put on, because if the first chapter isn't any good, who's gonna read the rest? But, I hope I did a good enough job. The meat of the story will take another chapter to get into, but I hope that you'll enjoy it when that happens. Until next time, see you later!**


	2. Dark Times

**I started this as soon as the last one was uploaded, because I want these two to be uploaded near each other, so that at least the basic premise of the story is out and about for everyone to see. Let's start things off.**

 **Also, I put out the disclaimer on Chapter 1, and I don't plan to do that every single chapter. Just like with Joined Worlds. I don't think anyone expects Akira Toriyama or Satoshi Tajiri to be writing Fanfiction, but I'm not them, and considering that I'm still in highschool, yeah… I'm not working at Toei or Pokemon. I don't own the base material, just the story I use it to create.**

* * *

 _ **Pallet Hospital**_

* * *

Ash sat, clenched tight in a seat, just down the hall from the operating room. His sodden clothes didn't bother him, he payed his aching muscles no heed, and didn't bother to rid himself of the tears that traced their way down his cheeks. His hat had flown off, carried away in the gale of his trek down the mountain, but he hadn't even realized it.

His fists were closed tight as tight as a Cloyster's shell as he dripped in his seat. People walked left and right past him, but he hardly noticed them. All he could think of was May, and how he had let her down.

"Why did I have to recommend that stupid hike!" he yelled internally. "If I had said the park, or the movies, or even just training, none of this would've happened. May would still be okay!"

"DAMN!" Ash suddenly yelled out. Everyone in the hall froze at this, but he didn't care. The pain he was feeling was beyond him feeling awkward about a few weird stares.

He looked back down at the floor, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as the tears leaked out. He heard footsteps approaching him, and a familiar voice entered his ears. "Ash?"

It was Tracy's voice. Ash looked up at him with red eyes. "Tracy?" he asked.

Tracy nodded and sat down next to Ash. "Now what was that about? I've never heard you yell that loud, or swear for that matter."

Ash looked at his lap. "What do you mean? You know exactly why I'm like this. You must have seen" he muttered.

Tracy looked concerned. "Ash, I don't even know why you're here. All I know is that I was looking out the window after Charizard took off, and then I saw you run this way. I had no idea what for."

Ash's throat closed up. He let out a small wheeze when he tried to talk, not getting anything out. His face scrunched up as a fresh wave of sorrow threatened to burst forth. Alarmed, Tracy set his hand on Ash's shoulder. "Ash, come on, tell me what's wrong."

The dam broke, and another flood of tears were let out. "It's my fault, it's all my fault" he sobbed out.

Tracy was incredibly worried. "Ash! What happened?!"

Though choking sobs, Ash managed to speak. "I... and May... storm... she fell… and…" Ash couldn't go on. Even the scattered words freshened the experience and stabbed his heart with a cold knife.

Tracy grew wide eyed. "May's here? She took a fall in the storm?"

Ash nodded shakily.

Tracy's eyes grew wide. "No, just because she took a fall, doesn't mean that she's a goner. If she's here, there's still hope."

Ash felt soothed by these words, but he wasn't sure how much he could believe them. Tracy hadn't been there, cradling her limp body in her arms. He hadn't felt her pulse, while a sign of life, how weak it was. He didn't know how long she lied at the foot of the mountain before she got here. Nonetheless, Ash felt his mind open up slightly, a feeling of relief, fain, like a spark, flared up inside of him.

Ash's hands loosened slightly. "Thank you Tracy" he wheezed, his throat sore from his tears. "I needed even a shred of hope."

Tracy smiled faintly. "And I am glad to give it. Knowing you, you would just keep beating yourself into the ground as long as you thought you had anything to do with it."

Ash stood up and took off his soaking jacket, setting it on the seat behind him. Then he reached into the breast pocket of it and pulled out a small object.

Tracy noticed this and looked at him. "Hey Ash, what you got there?"

"Hm?" Ash asked. "Oh, this? This is my good luck charm" he said, stretching his hand out and revealing. The object in his hands was a small medal, looking like half of a sun with two strands of ribbon stretching out of the bottom. "Me and May, before we split up, at the end of my journey in the Battle Frontier, we entered a contest in Terracotta Town. We tied, and since there was only one ribbon, we split it. We each keep half, to remember each other by, to remember the times we had when we travelled together…"

Ash's voice broke off, but Tracy understood. "May means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Tracy asked.

Ash nodded, his gaze averted downwards again. "Yeah, she does" he said.

Tracy nodded and smiled. "Well, I guess I was closer than I thought the other day. Ash really does have someone he really cares for" he thought.

Tracy patted Ash on the shoulder. "Listen Ash, you stay here and keep an ear out for May, and I'm going to go make some calls."

Ash looked up and nodded. His hand closed around the half of the Terracotta Ribbon as he sat back down in his seat, and he put his head in his hands.

Tracy frowned and walked back towards the front of the hospital. "Gee, he's really down in the dumps over this. I wonder just how bad of a fall she took" he thought.

Tracy's shoulder bumped into a passing person as he walked by. "Oh, sorry" he said, looking up.

"No problem, young man" the person said, continuing down the hall.

Tracy shook his head. "I should probably keep an eye on where I'm going."

Keeping an eye on the hall rather than let his mind wander, Tracy made his way to the video phones at the front of the hospital. Standing in front of the nearest free one, he sighed. "Well, I have to let the Professor know where I've gone. I'm sure Misty and Brock will need to come, because they were friends with May. And of course," Tracy shuddered at the thought, "I'm going to have to tell her family, although I don't know how they're going to react."

Tracy audibly gulped at how they would react. Even if he hadn't been there when it happened, families tended to react badly to news like this, and he was sure to get blasted as soon as the words left his mouth. Then another thought struck him. "Oh damn, if I'm worried like this about me, I can only imagine how they will react on Ash" Tracy thought. He sighed. "I know that Ash did everything in his power to save her from taking that fall, I just hope that they see it that way also."

Tracy felt sweat starting to gather on his forehead. "Alright, I'll call the others first, that way I can spend time thinking about how exactly I want to deliver the news."

Sighing with resignation, he picked up the phone. "Professor first then Misty and Brock, and her family last. Easy to hard, I guess."

Dialing in the number, he held the phone to his ear and waited for a response. A burst of static came through the speaker, and the image of Professor Oak appeared on screen. "Oh, Tracy, is that you? I was wondering where you ran off to. What is going on?"

Tracy let out a huff. "Nothing good, Professor. I'm at the hospital with Ash. Apparently, the two were hiking, and they got caught up in the storm, and May took a very bad fall."

Oak's eyes went wide. "Oh my! That's just awful. Does anyone else know about this yet?"

Tracy shook his head. "Besides Ash, me, and now you, no. After I let you know where I went, I was going to go call Brock and Misty to let them know, then get her family on the line."

"Oh, wouldn't it be imperative to contact her family first?" Oak asked.

"Yeah, well, I'm worried about how they'll react when they hear the news. Ash made it sound like she was in really bad shape. He wasn't very confident about her survival chances" Tracy said in a bad tone.

Oak frowned. "Well, her family should be the first to know, but I can understand how you worry. Tell you what, you take care of contacting Misty and Brock, and I'll take care of her family. I have the direct line to the Petalburg Gym from May's stay in Kanto."

Tracy let out a sigh of relief. "That would be great Professor. But let them know that it wasn't Ash's fault. He did everything he could to try and keep her from taking the fall, but it was out of his power."

"Right, Tracy. I will try to get that point across." Professor Oak grew a worried look on his face. "Norman, from what I've seen, is very protective of his family. If he thinks that this is Ash's fault, then he will be bound to react poorly to it. I would hate to see exactly what would happen."

Tracy nodded. "Right, thanks Professor. I really appreciate you talking to May's family for me."

Oak smiled grimly and nodded. "No problem, Tracy. I can understand how hard something like that is. Send May my greatest wishes towards a speedy recovery."

"Will do, Professor" Tracy said respectfully.

The screen blipped out and Professor Oak vanished. Tracy let out another sigh of relief. "Well, now I should probably call Brock and Misty to let them know what's up."

Dialing in a new number, Tracy stared intently at the screen as he held the phone to his head. After a flash of light, a split image of the Pewter Gym and the Cerulean Gym came onto screen.

"Agh, double voicemail? Are you kidding me?" Tracy facepalmed. "Alright, I'll just leave them a message." Tracy cleared his throat and began speaking into the phone. "Hey, Brock, Misty. It's Tracy, here at the Pallet Hospital. I'm here with Ash. May came to visit Ash, and while they were out, a storm picked up, and May got heavily injured. We're going to be here for a while, so if you guys need to come check in, I would do it as soon as possible. We're hoping, but we don't know how well she's going to do. I'll talk to you guys later."

Tracy hung up the phone and the screen went black. He sat there resting for a few minutes, having not gotten much rest the night before, and the stress of today affecting him. Then he looked off, back to where he came from. "Well, that's all I can really do right now, I guess. Might as well go check on Ash and May."

Tracy pushed himself up from his seat and turned back towards the depths of the hospital. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he shuffled down the hall.

Rounding the corner, he stopped in shock when he realized that Ash was still in the exact same position as he was when Tracy left, as if he hadn't moved a muscle.

Tracy walked up lightly. "Hey Ash, are you okay?"

Ash slowly sat up, looking terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. Tracy flinched back in shock. "Geez, Ash, I was only gone for about fifteen minutes. What the heck happened to you?"

When Ash spoke, his voice was hoarse. "It's just, May, it's hitting me in waves. Every couple minutes, it gets fresher and hits harder."

Suddenly, a blue spark leapt from Ash's hand, singing a spot on the chair he was sitting in. As it happened, Ash seemed to grow ever whiter. Tracy's mouth fell open. "Ash, what was that?"

Ash looked down at his hand. "It's difficult to explain. I guess that it's just happening because of my stress and emotions, but I didn't know that it could happen that way."

"Can I do anything to help?" Tracy asked Ash.

Ash shook his head. "No, the only thing that can stop this would be me calming down, but there's a fat chance of that right now. I don't feel like it, but I need to get this under control. Otherwise, I might end up fading."

"Fading?" Tracy asked.

Ash nodded. His hand sparked again, and his expression grew more pained. "I met a friend here in Kanto, a long while back. He was a Lucario."

Tracy nodded. "Lucario, the Aura Pokemon, right?" Then something clicked in his head. "Wait, I once saw a video of a Lucario battling. It used a move called Aura Sphere, and the ball of energy that it created looked exactly like that stuff coming out of your hand."

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Lucario was a strong Pokemon and aura user. He was actually the partner of a legendary hero who lived in the past. Anyways, during our adventure with Lucario, we went to a landmark in the northwest, called the Tree of Beginning, in the Valley of Rota. We went inside, and we eventually came to a sick Mew. The only way to save it was to replenish it's aura."

"Replenish it?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah. Lucario tried to do so itself, but it wasn't experienced enough to do it alone. On a hunch, I tried..." Ash said, trailing off as he stared at his hands again. Mentally shaking his head, he continued. "And I was able to use it to an extent. We both used our arua to save Mew, but at the last moment, Lucario pushed me out of the way to save me from fading."

"But what is fading?" Tracy asked.

Ash sighed. "Fading is when you use up all of your life force. You die, but it's different. Your body fades away, but I still felt Lucario's energy around me after he faded. It could've been Mew, or Lucario's spirit still around us."

"So basically, if you deplenish your aua, then you die?" Tracy asked.

"More or less, yes" Ash said.

Tracy stood up suddenly. "Then you've got to get yourself under control, Ash!" he said forcibly. "May wouldn't want you to die just because she's in the hospital, now would she?"

Ash looked down at the floor, in an expression that was half pain, half guilt.

Tracy sighed and patted Ash on the shoulder. "Listen, I think that you should try to wipe your mind clean for now, then get some rest. My guess is that after today, you really need it."

Ash looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't. With resignation, he looked back up at Tracy. Ok, fine, I'll get some sleep."

"Good, Ash, best choice" Tracy said, extending his hand. "Here, let me help you home."

"No" Ash said.

"What? But you just said that you would get some rest" Tracy asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't say that I would go home" Ash said. "I don't think that I could leave right now, anyways. I'll just rest here."

"Ok, Ash, fine" Tracy said resignedly. "I'll head back to the lab for the night, but I'll be back first thing in the morning to check on you."

Ash nodded. "Right. You get some rest too, Tracy."

Tracy nodded. "Sure thing, Ash. G'night."

Ash bent his leg up on his chair and put his head in his arms. Tracy walked back out into the storm, sprinting towards the lab to spend as little time out in the shower as possible. Looking over his shoulder as he ran, Tracy thought "Ash better keep his head down. He doesn't need to literally kill himself over what he did."

Busting through the doorway, the soggy Tracy stood panting in the entrance hall for the lab. As a puddle formed around his feet, Oak's voice came from across the lab. "Tracy, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me, Professor" Tracy said, taking off his sodden jacket and hanging it up.

Oak came into view from the back of the lab and walked over. "How is May?" he asked.

"I actually didn't see her myself" Tracy said. "According to Ash, things were still looking pretty bad though."

"Oh, I see. And where is the boy now?" Oak asked.

"He's spending the night at the hospital tonight, to stay near her" Tracy explained.

"Hmm, he's really feeling responsible for it all, isn't he" Oak said in deep thought.

"Yeah, he just won't let up on himself" Tracy said. "I tried to explain to him, that there was nothing that he could've done differently. You can't fight the forces of nature, but he just keeps going on about how it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't said that they should go on that hike up the mountain."

Oak sighed. "Ash was always very protective of his friends, and he was often one who took it upon himself to hold himself accountable for anything that went wrong."

"Yeah, you're telling me" Tracy muttered. "So, how did it go with her family?"

"Very fast" Oak said grimly. "I had barely gotten as far as to tell them that their daughter had landed in the hospital, before they said that they would be on the first boat over, and then they hung up."

"Well that certainly sounds cryptic" Tracy said. "They should probably be here by tomorrow. Hoenn is only about 16 hours away by boat."

"Indeed" Oak replied simply. "You really have been studying your geography. That is quite precise."

Tracy felt a yawn coming on. Barely stifling it, Tracy knew it was time to turn in for the night. Waving the the Professor, Tracy said "Good night, Professor."

"Good night to you as well, Tracy" Oak said.

* * *

 _ **Next Morning**_

* * *

Ash paced back and forth down the hall near May's room as he waited for news on her. His walking, though, was brought to an early stop by Tracy's arrival.

"Hey, Ash. At least you're up and moving today" Tracy said. He held a dripping umbrella at his side, proving that the storm had not let up overnight.

"Yeah" Ash said. "Not a big deal."

"Well, maybe not for you, but if you saw how you were yesterday..." Tracy said. "Anyways, do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's about a quarter after eleven" Ash replied, with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

Tracy studied Ash's face hard. While it wasn't as pale as it was last night, it was definitely still pretty white. "Ash, did you calm down like I said to last night?"

Ash shrugged. "I went right to sleep."

Tracy facepalmed. "Ash, I told you to calm down first. I learned a lot about the habits of living creatures, and I know that sleep doesn't wipe the slate clean. All it does is put it in stasis. You didn't get much actual rest last night, did you."

Ash sighed and looked down. "I couldn't help it, Tracy. I've had this pit weighing in my stomach for the past day, and getting to sleep alone was a challenge, let alone benefitting from it."

Slapping his face again, Tracy sat down in a chair near Ash. "I understand, Ash, but you won't be much good to her if you run yourself into the ground before anything happens."

"Yes sir" Ash grumbled.

"'Sir?'" Tracy asked, bemused.

Ash went back to pacing the hall, with his eyes focused on the ground. Sighing, Tracy leaned back in the chair, and was about to pick up the Pokemon Monthly magazine sitting on the table beside him, but then a new figure entered the area.

Ash raised his head. "Brock?"

The young Pokemon Doctor nodded. Striding over to Ash, he got straight to business. "How's May? Tracy told me that she was in pretty bad shape."

Ash nodded. His eyes betrayed the look of oncoming tears, but he had no more moisture left in them to expend. "Yeah, it was a bad fall. I haven't seen her since, but the Doctor told me that he would come and let me know the moment anything changed."

Brock nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tracy. Walking over, he sat down by the Pokemon Watcher. "So, you haven't seen her either?"

Tracy shook his head. "No, not a glimpse. All I know is what Ash told me. Is Misty on her way?"

Brock shrugged. "Dunno, she hasn't contacted me. If she grabbed a car, then she could be here soon. Pewter City is a lot closer to here than Cerulean, so Steelix was able to get me here pretty fast."

"I see" Tracy said. "May's parents should also be here in about an hour."

Brock's face was impassive. "Figures. Family is probably the most important thing anyone in a hospital could have. Moral support is actually a huge factor in recovery."

"Really now?" Tracy asked.

Brock nodded. "Yeah, there are tons of similarities between Pokemon and humans, from what I've seen in my studies. Besides typing and a Pokemon's body taking in natural and elemental cures more easily than a human, we are very similar creatures."

"I've found a lot of similarities in my field expeditions with Professor Oak, too" Tracy said. "It really is quite something."

"Yeah, if only we weren't so fragile, we might be exactly the same" Brock said. "I've seen Ash's Swellow fall from hundreds of feet up, and only get knocked out. Us, on the other hand, we break way too easily."

As Ash continued to pace up and down the hall past them, Brock let out a sigh. "Well, I guess that all I can really do at this point is wait with you guys for some news."

"Yeah" Tracy said. "We'll just have to see…"

* * *

 _ **45 Minutes Later**_

* * *

Ash had worn himself out of stamina a while ago. He was now sitting down, popping up every time someone in a white lab coat walked by.

While Brock and Tracy continued to share their knowledge of Pokemon with each other, for once, Pokemon were the furthest thing from Ash's mind. All he could focus on was his need for information.

His stomach continued to twist into knots, kneading itself over and over again, like dough. He barely felt it, however, his mind was far too detached for feeling pain right now.

Even if it was physically impossible for him to cry right now, he felt ghost tears welling up. "I still can't believe that that happened" he thought. "Tracy keeps telling me that it wasn't my fault, but that doesn't change the facts that if I had checked the weather this morning, I would never have taken her up so high with a storm on the way."

"And just as, just as I began to work out, those feelings I had. As soon as I figured out what it might have been, she fell. I never, I never even had a chance to tell her, to ask her…"

"Hey Ash, look" Brock said suddenly.

Ash looked up from his lap and saw a familiar redhead coming towards them. "It's Misty" Ash said.

As they all stood up to meet her, Ash perceived that something was wrong. She was wearing a very angry expression upon her face, and she appeared to be marching towards them, rather than walking.

All the same, Ash got out in front to meet her. "Hi, Mist-"

*SMACK*

Ash stumbled backwards as the furious redhead delivered a blazing slap to his face. Holding his face, the one pink area in a pale surface, looking at Misty in shock.

"What the hell, Misty?" Brock roared.

Misty paid him no heed. Shaking her finger at Ash, she spoke. "How dare you, Ash Ketchum! Why didn't you keep her from falling? You do it all the time, why not this time? You know that it's your fault that she's here!"

Ash felt as if his soul had slipped away, leaving the husk of his body behind. Or at least, that's how he wish he felt. Her words pierced his heart like glass shards, cutting deep and painfully. His expression grew to a point of agonized pain which most humans would lose consciousness before reaching. His arms became jelly, and he collapsed on the floor. It was as if, with those few words, Misty had finished him off more that it could have if he had lost all of his aura.

Brock stood between Misty and Ash. "Alright, Misty, that's taking it way too far" he said angrily. "Do you think that Ash just stood by and watched one of his best friends plummet off the side of a mountain? DO YOU?"

Misty didn't respond, but it was obvious that she was biting her tongue. Her face hovered somewhere in between rage and shame.

Ash, on the other hand, didn't feel remotely comforted by Brock standing up for him. Misty's accusations had reignited his certainty that May wouldn't be here, if not for him. He felt his insides shriveling as he laid on the floor. Then, his hand sparked.

A new voice came across the group. "Hello, is one of you, Ash Ketchum?"

Ash somehow found the strength to stand up and meet the doctor face to face. "I'm him" Ash said hoarsely.

The doctor frowned. "I, have an update on the friend that you brought in."

Ash felt energy resurging through his limbs. "How is she? Is she doing better?" he almost yelled.

The doctor averted his gaze with a dark expression. Ash didn't need to wait much longer for an answer. He translated that look himself.

"Oh no" Brock gasped.

"No…" Ash's voice was weaker than it had ever been, more defeated than the trainer had ever been before. The brief energy that he had felt upon the doctor's arrival flooded away, taking more that had been there when it came. He lost all power in his body once more, and collapsed backwards into a chair.

Lowering his head, the doctor continued to speak. "Listen, she's stabilized, but she's fading fast. It's not your fault. You did everything right. If she had taken that fall right on our doorstep and landed on a gurney, then she would have still had little chance at all. I would get in there, and say your good-byes."

Ash felt his mind go completely blank. It was as if he had fallen asleep, but was still aware of everything going on around him. An indescribable, heart-wrenching pain washed over him, and he gave a dry sob. "No, no, no, no, no…" he continuously muttered.

With one look, Bock knew that Ash wouldn't be able to make it on his feet, let alone go in there right now. Kneeling down in front of him, Brock looked at him with a soft, fatherly expression. "Listen, Ash, I can't even begin to imagine how you are feeling right now. You were closer to May than any one of us. We'll give you time to gather your thoughts, and come get you so that you can, you know…"

Ash heard these words, and perceived their meaning, but his body wouldn't allow him to give any sort of acknowledgement. However, it must have shown in his eyes that he heard, because Brock stood back up and walked, with the other two, into the room.

Dead to the world, Ash laid motionless in the chair, oblivious to his surroundings. All that was in his mind was a dull ringing sound, that blocked out all forms of thought.

Time moved faster around him, but yet, seemed to move through amber. His heartbeat stilled, while everyone raced through the hall past him. Before he knew it, Brock was shaking his shoulder. Pulling himself out of the murk he was dwelling in, it all came, completely crashing down on him. Brock pulled him into his embrace, comforting Ash in a way he could only imagine a father would. The pain he was in was beyond tears and simple comfort, but nonetheless, it fueled Ash for what was to come next.

Pushing himself away, Ash stumbled towards the open doorway. He barely noticed Misty, bawling her eyes out, or Tracy, who stood beside her, comforting her. All he could see was the wooden frame, behind which stood the young girl who had fallen.

Stepping into the room, Ash made his way over to the bed. May lied on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was faint. She was in one of those hospital gowns that are put on patients. The cluster of machines next to her bed displayed the heart monitor, reading at 62.

Ash stumbled into the chair beside her bed, and looked at her. Even so close to the end, she still looked beautiful in every single way. Her smooth skin, her content expression, her silky hair…

Ash felt the words coming on, and he didn't stop them. "May when I first met you, I was just another trainer on a journey. I was immature, in way over my head, stupid, and as I've been told so many times before, dense. All I knew is that I wanted some company on the road, and I liked helping people reach their potential, so I let you come with me."

"I felt a friendship between us grow as we went through Hoenn and Kanto together, but it was different than the one I had felt with Misty, Brock, Tracy, Max, all of them. At the time, and for a long time after that, I had no idea what it was that made it so different, but I do now."

*BEEP* 51...

"As time went on, and I went through Sinnoh, my journey felt like it was missing something. Brock was with me again, and I had made a new friend in Dawn, but it didn't feel the same. When you visited for the Wallace Cup, that feeling vanished without me even knowing. It came back when you left, and I hadn't even noticed it when it was gone. Then, as I went through Unova, the feeling grew, and ate away at me inside. I didn't know where it was coming from, or what it was, but I knew that something was wrong, something was missing."

"Then, as I came home this last time, I realized that I had matured. I wasn't so ignorant as I had once been, and I started to learn more about how the world worked. I learned what love was, without even knowing it. And when you came back, I realized how I had learned about it. I learned about it the same way I learned how to be a trainer. From experience."

*BEEP* 34...

Taking a deep breath, Ash let it fly. "I love you, May Maple. I don't know for how long, or why it took me this long to come to terms with it, but I do know, that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and a life without you, that's a life that I don't want to live."

As these words left Ash's mouth, everything came into sharper focus. He meant every word of what he said, and he realized, a life without May wasn't a life worth living. His hands sparked again, and so did his memory.

 _The only way to save it was to replenish it's aura…_

 _Replenish it's aura…_

 _Replenish it's aura…_

Ash gasped. "I, I can still save you!"

Trembling, Ash put both of his hands out in front of him. Concentrating with all of his might, he willed all of his energy to go out, through his hands.

A blue spark leapt from his hands once more, and slowly, a faint, opaque ball of swirling blue energy began to come out of his hands.

A small gale picked up in the room, papers on the tables shifting as Ash exerted more effort into the transfer. The sphere swelled, touching May, causing her skin to glow blue. Straining his muscles, he expanded it even further, each ounce of energy causing another pain to shoot through his body. Sparks of energy rippled up his arms and down his torso. Pushing on through it, the aura sphere enveloped May completely, as if she were caught in a spotlight. The blue light now filled the room, and a wind picked up blowing all the papers in the room up in a whirlwind.

*BEEP* 5…

"May, hrrgh, I need, to save you" Ash grunted as he continued his aura transfer. "I meant it, when I said, that I don't, want to live, arr, without, _you_."

Thundering footsteps entered the room. He didn't look, but he recognized the voice. "Ash, what are you doing?!" Brock yelled.

Ignoring him, Ash unleashed his full aura into May. The sphere grew larger, and faded to green as it grew. His last bit of life force left his fingers and flooded into May's body, and he collapsed, sparks of aural energy flowing up and down his body, shocking him. He felt lightheaded and distant, but he was aware of one thing.

 _Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

May had flatlined. The number on the heart monitor read 0.

"I, couldn't do it" Ash muttered in an almost delirious fashion.

Brock ran over to Ash. "No, Ash, you didn't…"

"I couldn't save her, Brock" Ash sobbed. "Even with everything i had, it wasn't enough to save her. I just couldn't…"

Brock brought Ash up and slung his arm on his shoulder, ignoring the pulses of energy.

"I'm a failure, Brock…" Ash cried.

"Stop beating yourself up, Ash" Brock said. "You have saved everyone hundreds, if not thousands of times, and the one you can't you give up everything to try and stop, and you can't. Ash, you aren't a failure, you are the best friend anyone could ask for."

Brock's praise fell on a deaf shell. Ash didn't perceive anything he said, all he knew is that he failed.

Stepping outside of the room, Ash freed himself from Brock's shoulder and leaned against the wall. Tracy and Misty watched them come out, and were shocked when they saw Ash's body, pulsing with what looked like electricity.

"Ash, please tell me that you didn't lose control in there!" Tracy begged.

"I didn't" Ash muttered. "I did exactly what I meant to…"

Tracy and Brock looked in each other's eyes. "You know what's about to happen, don't you?" Brock asked.

Tracy nodded, fighting back tears. "Ash, he explained enough to me, to know…"

Ash knew they were there, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Misty stood up. "Brock? Tracy? What is going on?"

Brock looked at Misty with a pained expression. He didn't want to hurt the young girl even more. She had just lost one friend, and was about to lose another. She was hardly any older than Ash or May, but he knew he had no choice. "Misty, I'm afraid, that Ash is, well, he's about to-"

"YOU!" a booming voice rang out through the hall.

The sheer volume of the voice got Ash's attention, as well as everybody's in a 10-mile radius. A large man with short, dark hair stormed towards them, with a lady and kid right behind him, looking almost scared.

Norman, May's dad, approached Ash with speeds that would make a Jolteon jealous. "So, you decided to go and get my young girl hurt, did you!?" he shouted.

Caroline reached up and pulled on Norman's arm. "Honey, this is a hospital, keep it down!"

Ignoring her, Norman shrugged her off and kept staring down Ash. "It's a good thing that you're already here, because by the time I'm done with you, you're going to need a good long visit in the ICU!"

Max ran out around his mother and father and got between him and Ash. "Dad, stop this, Ash would never do anything to hurt my sister! What don't you get about this?"

Norman moved his son out of the way, gently but sternly. "This is a grown up matter you wouldn't understand" he told his son. Facing Ash, he scowled fiercely enough to scare a Raikou into running. "Well, punk, do you have anything to say?!"

Ash sobbed. "I, I couldn't protect her. I couldn't save her. This is my fault" he said miserably.

"Oh, that it is!" Norman assured.

Norman brought his arm back, then swung at Ash. While he was beyond the point of caring, reflexis made him close his eyes. However, the blow that he expected to come never came.

"What the-?" Norman asked, bewildered.

Ash opened his eyes and saw that Norman's fist had gone straight through him. Looking down, he saw that his body was fading like a hologram.

Feeling the pain of fading shooting through his body, Ash felt a strange sense of relief. Looking around at everyone, he mentally said goodbye. Brock and Tracy now had tears streaming down their faces, Norman continued to look bewildered, and Caroline, Max, and Misty all looked scared.

Ash closed his eyes. "Maybe, I might, see May there" he thought.

"No, Ash!" Tracy yelled, but his voice seemed so far away, for someone who was standing right next to him.

Ash felt his body becoming lighter, his essence spreading. The pain was a welcome feeling, the first physical feeling he had had in the last day. Ash spread his arms, the blue glow filtering through his eyelids.

Ash opened his eyes one last time and looked at his friends. His eyes lingered on Brock, Tracy, and Max. His face hardly changed, but there was a small, imperceptible motion, one that his friends knew what it meant. "Goodbye."

Then, in a flash of green light, everything went black.

* * *

 _ **Pallet Hospital**_

* * *

"Hey, where'd that punk run off to?" Norman growled.

Brock glared daggers at the grown man. "You are a piece of work, you know that?" he seethed. "Attacking a kid in that condition? Have you no shame?"

Norman stumbled backwards. Brock appeared to be radiating waves of hate and anger, directed solely towards the man. "I don't have to explain myself. You will understand my course of action when you have kids. Now, get away from me, and let me see my daughter."

Tracy stepped forward. "Yeah, about that…"

"Hmm..?" Norman raised an eyebrow.

Tracy sighed. "This is exactly what I wanted to avoid when I called them, but I have no choice. How can I be that selfish after what Ash just did?"

"Listen, sir. I'm sorry, but you, you are too late. May, she passed on, just a moment ago" Tracy said.

"WHAT?!" Norman bellowed.

"Nnnnnoo…" Caroline mumbled, fainting.

"What, no, not, she can't be, no!" Max mumbled, unable to believe it.

The two boys ran into the room, Caroline being brought by Norman. They stopped dead still at the sight of the young girl. The monitor was still flatlining. _Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…_

Max sobbed and ran over. "No, sis, you can't be gone, you just can't be!" he cried, throwing himself on his sister.

Norman set his wife on the chair and walked over. "My precious little girl, it, it can't be, you were still so young…"

Norman set his head on the bed, looking at the body of the young girl on the white sheets. He stuffed his face in the sheets and too, began sobbing.

 _Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- Beep, Beep, Beep._

Suddenly, the heads of the two boys shot up. The monitor no longer read 0. The number was climbing. 21, 36, 43, 64, 78…

"...Dad?" a voice came from the top of the sheets.

The two looked up at the body of May, and saw that her eyes were wide open.

"Honey/Sis!" the two shouted, hugging May as tight as they could.

"Ow, okay, that's too tight, guys" May grunted, smiling lightly.

The two let May go, and she began to look around. "Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital, May" Max said.

May put on a confused expression. "What am I doing at the hospital?"

Norman stood up and growled. "That punk Ketchum landed you here, knocked you off of a cliff from what I've heard."

"Not true" a voice said from the doorway.

Tracy stood in the doorway, with Brock right behind him. Walking in, Tracy continued talking. "You know, I don't know why you're so predisposed to hating Ash when you hardly know anything about him besides the fact that he's a Pokemon Trainer. You really think that he pushed _May_ off of a cliff?"

Suddenly, her last moments on the mountain came back to May.

 _May gasped. "Ash, I, I'm pulling you down" she said with fright. "I'm going to bring both of us down!"_

 _"No, you won't, just hold on May" Ash grunted. "I can, I can save us."_

 _One of Ash's feet came loose, but he was able to jam it back into place before he came too loose._

 _May shook her head. "Ash, you've saved me so many times before, but this time, you can't. All you're doing is dragging yourself down with me."_

 _"May…" Ash said weakly._

 _May looked up with tears in her eyes. "Ash, I'm sorry, but this time, you can't save me."_

 _"No, May, I can!" Ash said, pulling up as hard as he could._

 _"Ash…" May said, closing her eyes. "...Goodbye."_

May gasped as her memories flooded back into her.

"All I know is that that hooligan had my May up on some mountain during a storm, and didn't help her stay on the mountain" Norman said.

"You're wrong, Dad!" May said forcibly.

Norman looked back in shock. "May?"

May was furious at her father. "I'll have you know that the storm came while we were already up there, and he did everything in his power to keep me safe. He was prepared to go down with me, until I let go."

"What, you let go?" Brock asked.

May nodded. "And Dad, Ash is NOT a hooligan. He's saved me so many times that I can't even remember, been there for me when you NEVER were, comforted me, helped me become a coordinator, everything! And he saved me this time, and you have the _nerve_ to be this rude to him?"

May threw her sheets off and stood up, shocking everyone around her. She was moving as well as if she had never been admitted to the hospital. She looked at Brock dead in the eyes. "Brock, where is Ash?"

Brock couldn't meet her gaze. "May, you may want to sit back down."

May shook her head. "No way, where is he?"

Brock sighed. "May, do you remember Lucario?"

May was perplexed. "Yeah, why?"

Bock met her eyes with difficulty. "May, you were fading fast. Ash, he didn't want you to die, he felt like a failure. So, he did the same thing to you that Lucario did for Mew."

"That Lucario did for-?" May wondered what he meant, but then it struck her like a freight train. "No, NO, that's not true! Ash is not gone!" she yelled.

"May, I know it's hard to hear, but-" Brock began to say, but May cut him off.

"NO, HE'S NOT, HE CAN'T BE, THERE'S NO WAY!" she yelled.

"ASH USED UP HIS AURA TO SAVE YOU MAY! HE'S GONE!" Brock yelled louder, overriding May's pitch and making his point heard.

May's yelling stopped abruptly. Her legs shook beneath her, threatening to give way. "Ash, he's, he really..?"

Tracy stepped forward. "Yeah, then this airhead," he said, jutting his thumb at Norman, "attacked Ash for not keeping you from falling, just before Ash faded."

May turned around so fast, she may have teleported. "You, did, what?" she seethed.

Norman was genuinely afraid of the look his daughter was giving him. "ANSWER ME!" she yelled.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't know-" Norman said.

May was now filled with rage and sorrow. She fell to her knees, sobbing on the ground. Bock kneeled next to her and put his hand on his shoulder, comforting her. Norman tried to come over and do the say, but she swatted his hand away with such ferocity, he had to check to see if he had lost a few layers of skin.

"I, I never even, got the chance, the chance to tell him…" she sobbed out.

Brock's eyes widened as he heard this.

"I,-I, I love him…" she muttered, before falling unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Unknown Area**_

* * *

"If this is death, then why does it hurt so much?"

This was the only thought Ash had. Even after vanishing, he didn't feel anything fading away. If anything, it was coming back into sharper focus.

Suddenly, he became aware of a green light enveloping him. He couldn't see, but the light permeated his eyelids. "Wh-what?" he muttered weakly.

As the pain began to fade, he became aware of his surroundings. He was collapsed in a grassy field. He heard the steady trickle of a stream close to his right, and he heard the distant sounds of Pokemon.

He also became aware of a presence behind him. The light that had covered him was restoring his energy, and he felt certain that whoever was behind him, was behind it.

Which meant he had a bone to pick with them.

"The light, when I was fading, wasn't death. It was a Teleport…" he muttered.

The green light faded. "Well deduced. I didn't think that you would have figured it out that quickly, based upon your intellect when last we met" a voice said.

Ash rolled over on his back to look at whoever was talking, but he saw no one there. Painfully pushing himself to his feet, Ash looked around. In the distance, he saw many Pokemon, but none in the vicinity of himself.

"Who's there?" Ash asked.

"Then again, I may have been wrong about you last time, as I never saw much of you" the voice came again, this time from above.

Ash turned his head upwards, but only saw dark, empty sky. "Whoever this is, I'll have you know that I'm not in the mood for games."

A pulse of energy ran up Ash's body, flooring him with pain once more. He dry heaved on the ground from the sheer force of the after effects.

Looking back up, he grimaced. "Listen, whoever you are. I don't know why you saved me, but it was in vain. I don't want to live anymore, so just leave me be."

"So, the great Ash Ketchum, protector of life, is giving up on it?" the drawling voice asked.

Ash knew the voice from somewhere, but didn't care to recognize it. Looking around, he saw that the small river he had been right next to turned into a waterfall not 30 feet away.

"Falling off of a cliff, fitting end" Ash thought miserably. Ash took off as best he could towards the edge of the cliff, and jumped, sailing outwards over the long fall below. There was a river and forest below, not that he cared. "Finally, it can all be over" he thought.

However, just as he began to fall, he stopped. He was frozen in place by an invisible force. Looking at his hands, he realized that he was glowing blue. "Psychic…" he muttered.

The force dragged him back to the field and dumped him down. Ash struggled to get back to his feet. "If only I had Krookodile or Pikachu, whatever Psychic Pokemon that's keeping me here would be sorry" he thought.

"Dark-Types may do well against most Psychic-Types," the voice said, "but not me. And I have enough experience with your Pikachu to know that it too would stand no chance against me."

Ash gripped his head. "What are you doing in my head?" he moaned.

The voice laughed. "Are you kidding? With how much negative aura, charged with your emotions that you are putting out, it would be harder to ignore it."

"Yeah, and what do you know about aura?" Ash shouted.

"Enough" the voice said simply.

"Listen, if you are going to be too cowardly to show your face, I suggest letting me go. I don't want to have to exert all of my aura again, but I will if it's my only way out" Ash growled.

"What a _foolish_ boy you still are" the voice said scathingly.

A purple light came down out of the dark sky, descending right in front of Ash. As the glow faded, Ash recognized the being who had him here.

"Mewtwo" Ash muttered.

Mewtwo grinned, or at least did the closest it could. "The one and only."

"Not true" Ash said. "I met another Mewtwo in Unova, and I have to say, it was much more powerful than you."

Mewtwo frowned. "I was unaware that there was another one like me out there."

"Yeah, well, you appear to be unaware of a lot of things, like how I'm not in the mood to be kept from moving on" Ash shouted.

"You irk me" Mewtwo said sternly. "It is not because of some fascination with you that I saved you. It is because of a rule that all of us sentient Legendary Pokemon follow."

"Sentient?" Ash asked.

"Us few Legendary Pokemon that communicate and act on the level or beyond of you humans" Mewtwo said. "Those of us who have conquered our primordial instinct to become truly intelligent. We act upon a message that was given to us."

"And who exactly has the time to go around, looking not just for Legendary Pokemon, but for the sentient ones, and give them messages?" Ash asked.

"Why, the one who made all of us in the first place" Mewtwo said. "Arceus."

Ash gasped. "Arceus, really?"

"Yes, you know of him?" Mewtwo asked.

"Met him, saved him, and yeah, know of him" Ash replied sarcastically.

Mewtwo glared at him. "Well, I'm sure that you have heard some others refer to you under special titles before?"

Ash was perplexed. "Nothing that I didn't earn. I was runner up in the Lily of the Valley Conference, Aura Guardian for the Year-"

"I'm not talking about petty attachments" Mewtwo said. "I'm talking about a special title, a lore worthy one. 'The Chosen One' ringing a bell?"

Ash frowned. "Yeah, I was a Chosen One for the Shamouti Prophecy, that's it. I just happened to fit the description."

Mewtwo put it's hand on its face as if it had a migraine. "So many of you humans are dull minded, it's hard to go slow enough to keep down with you."

"I was a Chosen One once, so what? That's passed" Ash said.

Mewtwo glared once more. "Prophecies are never just 'one and done.' Arceus himself has chosen you to be his tool of balance while you are on this planet. It is a special right that is rarely given. While he slumbers in the space between dimensions, it is you job to keep the balance here."

"Right, and why am I supposed to believe this?" Ash asked.

"Think about it, you fool" Mewtwo said hotly. "Just how many times have you been a vital instrument in stopping calamity?"

"Well, I guess a little over a dozen times" Ash said slowly.

"And you are still an adolescent" Mewtwo said, sealing his point. "More than a dozen times before reaching maturity. Isn't that sign enough for you?"

Ash sighed. "I don't care if i'm supposed to be a balancer. Something just happened, and I don't want to live with it."

Mewtwo shook its head. "Don't you see, that this is bigger than you? The balance of everyone on the planet is supposed to be in peril because a prepubescent man lost the will to live? That sounds like a severely selfish choice to me."

Ash saw the logic in that, and, with a sigh, gave in. "If there is one thing I try not to be, it's selfish."

Mewtwo nodded. "So, now that you won't be running off to kill yourself anymore, I suppose I can send you back?"

"No" Ash said quickly.

Mewtwo raised its eyebrows. "Oh, why not?"

Ash sighed. "I can't go back, ever. Because of me, a friend died, and there are too many bad memories with them now. Too many people blame me, and I'm not sure that I can handle that."

Mewtwo looked bemused. "What do you expect to do then?"

Ash turned to Mewtwo. "What if I lived in this valley with you? I've met you once before, and it was right here. You know that I don't harm Pokemon, even those I don't know, not without them attacking first."

Mewtwo had the look of someone who just remembered something important. "Well, you are half right. We've met here before, but that was not the only time."

"Unless you changed your voice to a girl's when I was in Unova, I'm pretty sure I've only met you once" Ash said.

Frowning, Mewtwo shoved his fingers towards Ash and spread them apart, glowing with blue psychic energy. Suddenly, a stream of memories entered Ash's mind.

Ash collapsed for a moment, then got back up. "Hrrgh, well, I guess you're right, I really have met you twice."

Mewtwo nodded. "Anyways, now that we have that addressed, what do you plan to do here? You lack your partners, and it does not sound like you want any of your old one's back."

"I would love to have some of them, but they would be missed" Ash said. "I have some partners scattered around that don't live at Oak's Ranch, though."

"I could ask them if they would like to rejoin you. Of course, they would have to get along with the clones" Mewtwo said.

"My Pokemon are friendly" Ash assured.

"Very well. I suppose, if you are to be living here, your Pokemon may as well come too. Who are they, and where" Mewtwo asked.

Ash looked at Mewtwo. "If you can read my mind and erase my memories, I'm pretty sure you can figure out which one's they are."

Mewtwo looked surprised. "Fair enough. You really aren't the boy I remember."

"It's called maturity" Ash muttered. "And it comes with a price."

Mewtwo nodded, but didn't press the issue. As it turned around to Teleport away, Ash spoke up.

"By the way, what are the other sentient Legendary Pokemon" Ash asked.

Mewtwo looked back at him. "There is Lugia of the Orange Islands, Hoopa of Dahara City, and, of course, my counterpart, nestled at the Tree of Beginning."

"Mew's sentient? And what's Hoopa?" Ash asked.

"Hoopa is, well, you'd have to meet it" Mewtwo said. "And yes, Mew is sentient. However, it doesn't consend to using human speech that often, even through telepathy."

"Huh, could've fooled me" Ash said. "Mew looked smart, but not like it could use telepathy at all."

"Mew is smart. Not as smart as me, but smart" Mewtwo said, smirking.

Ash nodded. "If you say so. That's all for now."

Mewtwo nodded, disappearing in a flash of purple light.

Ash walked over to the edge of the waterfall and sat down. He had not shown his weakness to the Psychic-Type, but his emotions were still very much in pain. He was grateful for the home, but his gratitude could not override the despair of that day. Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out his half of the Terracotta Medal. As he held it, memories of all of his times with May began to surface.

Putting his head down in his arms, Ash began to cry. Not sob, not wail, not collapse, but just cry. The tears flowed down his cheeks as he came to a stop, letting everything crash down on him. "I'm still alive, but she, she's gone forever" he said through the tears.

Turning around to lay down in the grass, Ash allowed his true exhaustion to finally take hold, and fell asleep, with the tears still pouring from his eyes.

He felt as if he had only been unconscious for minutes, however, when he was nuzzled awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw a large, beaked face, looking down at him.

Scrambling to his feet, a small smile came to his face. "Hey, Pidgeot!" he said.

Pidgeot cawed and nuzzled in Ash's chest again, knocking him on his rear end. The sight of one of his first Pokemon brought a smile to Ash's face.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Pidgeot wasn't all that Mewtwo had brought. Flying around his head excitedly, the first Pokemon he had ever caught, Butterfree. A young Lapras splashed in the river looking at Ash with joy, and nearby, a powerful looking Primeape stood, looking at Ash.

Ash truly smiled for the first time that day, and spread his arms. Primeape rushed forward and tackled Ash with a hug, while Butterfree land on his head, tickling him with its wings. Lapras couldn't get in on the action, so she sprayed a Water Gun in the air, showering Ash with mist.

Once Ash feed himself from the many bodies, he sat back down, with his four old friends near him, and looked at them, proud of how well they had been doing.

However, Ash was not completely happy. For obvious reasons, he was much less joyous that he would have been. Looking at Mewtwo, they nodded at each other, and Mewtwo floated away, towards the clone Pokemon.

With a sigh, Ash knew that his life wasn't the one he wanted, but it was the right choice. He had to step up, put the past in the past, and help the people and Pokemon of the world.

He had to be, The Chosen One.

* * *

 **Alright, that's a wrap on chapter 2. These last two have been, more or less, the prologue, so next time, the real part of the story gets going. I have you all have enjoyed it, and I hope that more people find it. Until next time, I'm signing off. Cya in chapter 3!**


	3. As Time Goes On

_**Mount Quena**_

A breeze swept through the top of the mountain as the storm protecting the sanctuary rage on around them. Standing atop the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain, a young man in dark clothes stood overlooking the forest below.

He let out a deep sigh. "Only ten more days…" he spoke to no one in particular.

He was dressed in a dark suit, not unlike those of the Aura Guardians of yore, but simpler, and black. A thin cape stretch down his back, and turned into a hood, covering his face. A pair of gloves adorned with white gems sat upon his hands, and a black cap was donned upon his head, pulled down over his eyes.

Feeling for the familiar object setting in his pocket, Ash took out his piece of the special ribbon that he would always keep, a reminder of better times…

Light footsteps pattered up behind him. Feeling a bumping on his leg, Ash looked down to see a small blue and black humanoid Pokemon trying to get his attention.

Ash kneeled down to the Pokemon's level. "I'm fine, Riolu, just thinking. It's almost that time of year again."

"Riiiii…" Riolu whined.

Ash chuckled. "You are really in tuned with my emotions, huh? Only you know exactly how I'm feeling."

Sitting down next to the Pokemon, Ash started thinking. "You know, I know that people call Riolu empathetic Pokemon, but you seem to almost know me better than I know myself. Mew told me that you were descended from the Lucario that worked with Sir Aaron. If that's true, then it's no wonder you're so good at sensing me out."

"Riolu Ri" Riolu said, slightly abashed.

Looking up at the sky, Ash let out a breath. "Riolu, you've been my partner for over a year now, but I feel like you've been there for me for a long time, much longer than that." Sitting back up, his expression turned dark. "But even longer still is how long it's been since the incident." Looking down, he continued. "It's been almost 3 years, now. Just a few more days, and 3 whole years since I came here."

Riolu frowned as it sensed Ash's darkening mood. "Lu?" it asked.

Ash reached up and wiped his eyes clear of the moisture gathering there. "Nothing, I don't need to burden you with it."

Looking over the edge, he let his mind wander. He was only waiting for Mewtwo to show back up, and then he could talk to him. Reaching down to his belt, he pulled out two black Pokeballs with red and yellow stripes running across them.

Looking down at the Empathy Pokemon beside him, Ash held up the Luxury Ball. "Only the finest for you guys. Are you ready for a trip, Riolu?" Ash asked.

Riolu bowed to Ash in a polite fashion, with its hand across its chest. "Rio" it answered.

Ash nodded. "Alright. Riolu, return" he said. A beam of red light shot out of the Pokemon and enshrouded Riolu. Minimizing the ball, Ash walked over to the center of the valley. "Pidgeot!" he shouted out.

Hearing flapping wings above him, Ash looked up and saw a large, majestic bird descending upon him. Landing beside him in a regal pose, Pidgeot appeared dignified and important.

Ash sighed. "You know, you don't have to make every landing so extravagant" he said.

"Caaaw" Pidgeot cried, spreading its wings wide.

Facepalming, Ash shook his head. "Pidgeot, return."

Recalling Pidgeot into the comfortable Pokeball, Ash pocketed it too, then looked around. "When is Mewtwo going to be here? It should have been here by now."

"I don't have to run on your schedule" the voice of Mewtwo rang out. Teleporting down in front of Ash, Mewtwo appeared. "What is it?"

"I feel like going to stay elsewhere for a while" Ash said simply. "I wanted to see if you could Teleport me over to Rota."

"Rota? The domain of my feeble copy?" Mewtwo scoffed. "Why would you want to be around that pink furball?"

"First off, no matter how much you pretend to hate Mew, you know that you need it" Ash said. "You were made from Mew, you're linked to it. And second, I can't always be around a sociopathic, locked off Pokemon all the time. Sometimes, I need to be with someone that can actually experience emotion."

"And why exactly is-" Mewtwo began to say.

"Listen, Mewtwo" Ash said shortly. "It's either Mew, or Hoopa. Maybe I'll tell Hoopa that you issued another challenge this time. If you won't Teleport me, I can always have Pidgeot fly me there."

Mewtwo scowled, remembering the last time he was in combat with the Djinn Pokemon.

"I still remember what you said when you first brought me here, how Dark-Types weren't a problem for you" Ash continued. "I'm sure that would get Hoopa in a fighting mood. Maybe it will even invite a Darkrai and Yveltal to make the fight more interesting."

"FINE!" Mewtwo shouted. "Just tell me when you are ready to go."

"Anytime" Ash said hotly.

Mewtwo raised its hand, glowing with a psychic energy. "Oh, I just remembered" he said. "Why is it, that at this time every year, you ask to go to one of the other Legendary Pokemon, one that can, as you say, 'connect emotionally' with you."

"Why should I share that with you?" Ash responded. "It's my personal business."

"You realize that I could find out myself if I wanted to" Mewtwo said.

"Maybe you used to be able to" Ash said. Holding his palm up, Ash sent up a small wave of blue energy. "My mind may have been an open book before, but I learned how to close it a while back."

"Hmmph" Mewtwo huffed, waving his hand. In a flash of green light, Ash vanished from the spot. "Don't be in a hurry to come back" he roared.

 _ **Viridian City**_

"Rhyyyy…"

"Rhydon is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner" the referee shouted. "The victor of this battle is May Maple of Petalburg City."

"Great job, Sceptile" May congratulated. "Here, take a nice long rest."

A young man in a blue jacket walked up to May. "You know, not many trainers have ever beaten this gym since I took up residence, and never has a trainer I've met been that powerful." Holding out his hand, he revealed a green feather-shaped badge. "Here, as proof of your victory against me, the Earth Badge."

May nodded, accepting the small emblem. "Thank you, Gym Leader Blue" she said graciously.

"Hey, no problem" Blue said offhandedly. "You may be the very last challenger that I have in a long time, so I'm glad that you were such a worthy opponent."

"Last challenger?" May asked.

"Yeah, you've heard of the upcoming competition, right?" Blue asked.

"Oh, yeah, that one" May said without energy.

"Who knows, maybe I'll see you there" Blue said "Have a good day, you hear?"

"Yeah, thanks" May said, turning around and walking out the door.

As she stepped outside, she heard slow clapping waiting for her. Rounding the corner of the building, she saw a familiar green-haired coordinator standing there. "Who would've thought, the day that a coordinator went trainer."

May glared at him. "What do you want, Drew?"

Pikachu came running out of the building behind her, stopping as it came onto the scene. "I just wanted to see what you're doing, running through gym battles instead of making the rounds in contests, that's all. Seems like a real waste, if you ask me."

"You know nothing of why I'm doing this, so who are you to judge?" May responded hotly.

"You're using another trainer's Pokemon to go for a goal that isn't even yours" Drew said nonchalantly. "Seems kind of insane to me."

"For your information," May began scathingly, "I'm doing this for an old friend who never got a chance to reach his dream. I'm making sure that it comes through, for him and his Pokemon."

"You mean that Ketchum kid? Please, he never stood a chance at it, so why are you taking up the entire burden of a worthless trainer?" Drew asked.

"ASH WAS NOT-!" May began to scream, but she was beat to the punch.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu cried, sending a massive Thunderbolt attack at Drew.

"AAAAAGH" Drew screamed. An electrical explosion occurred, and the coordinator was sent sailing into the distance, screaming.

"Pika!" Pikachu growled angrily at the soaring figure. Turning back around, Pikachu noticed that May had turned away. "Pikachu Pi?" it asked.

"Oh!" May's voice quickly came. She quickly raised her hands up and rubbed her eyes vigorously. She turned around to face the small Electric Mouse Pokemon. "Sorry Pikachu, I'm fine. It was just, really hard for me to hear him say that."

Pikachu nodded, ears drooping. "Kaaaaa…"

Looking up at the sky, May sighed sadly. "It's almost that time of year again, Pikachu, and it couldn't have come at a worse time."

"Kachu?" Pikachu asked.

"It's nothing" May said. "Come on, let's get back to the Pokemon Center. I'm sure that the others are waiting for us."

"Pi" Pikachu said, scampering up alongside May.

As the two walked back through Viridian City, May was very quiet. "How could he say all those things? I'm trying to make sure that the person who taught me everything can at least have his dream fulfilled by his Pokemon" she thought.

Clenching the new badge she had won in her hand, she felt her emotions rising. "I thought that once I got all of the badges so that we could all enter the Indigo Conference, I would feel better. But no, that's going on hold too, and I can't help but feel even more alone than ever."

Suddenly, she felt herself slam into another person. "Wah!" she cried, tumbling down onto the ground. She quickly stood up and brushed her back off. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going and-"

"Well, I dare say I don't believe who it is" the man she knocked down said. The man was rather wide, and dressed in a simple blue suit. He spoke with a cool and calm accent. "I haven't heard that voice in forever."

"How do you know me?" May asked cautiously.

The man grunted and got to his feet. Turning around, May noticed his curly brown hair and dark glasses. "Oh, it's you!"

"In the flesh" Scott said. "I didn't think that I'd find you around here, but I'm not complaining."

"What are you doing in Viridian?" May asked. "Scouting out more Battle Frontier worthy trainers?"

"Nah, the Frontier has picked up quite the momentum since Ash won it all" Scott said. Noticing May's pained expression, he quickly looked abashed. "Sorry, I heard all about it. I should've thought before I spoke."

"No, it's ok" May said, her voice slightly brittle. "As you were saying?"

"Oh, right. Well, nowadays, just about anyone knows about the Battle Frontier, so there's no real need to introduce people to it anymore. Of course, not many have even beaten their first Frontier Brain, but that's the way it goes" Scott said. "No, I was here spreading the word about a different kind of challenge. I'm working with a group of others to host a massive tournament, the biggest the world's ever seen."

Looking glum, May nodded. "Yeah, I've heard about it. It's so important that all Pokemon League based facilities are closing down until it's over."

Scott looked surprised. "Well, I wasn't aware you've been keeping up with the Trainer's side of the world so much."

May looked down. "Well, I'm trying to become a Pokemon Master myself now. I'm taking care of Ash's Pokemon, and they've been wanting this for as long as they can remember. Also, I really want to honor Ash's memory with this."

Scott nodded. "Well, if you're doing this to fulfill his dreams, then why are you so down about the tournament?"

"Because it's closing down everything, even the Pokemon League, for at least a couple months while everything is going down" May said. "That means that I will have to wait even longer to move forward."

Scott raised his eyebrows. "How hard have you been keeping up with the news about this old thing, May?"

"Not very" she replied.

Scott let out a small chuckle. "Young lady, what you view as a detour may actually be a shortcut."

May studied Scott's face. "What exactly do you mean?"

Scott sat down on a bench. "I've been working on this thing from the beginning, so I know every detail about this thing, inside and out. Trainers from every region are flocking to compete in this contest, even the far off regions most people in these parts haven't even heard of. It's all going down in a faraway region, in a place where the Pokemon and Trainers are stronger than near anyone else. In a place called Vesryn, at the tip of a landmark called the Vesryn Spear,-"

 **(A/N: Giving credit, TheSuzerain's work on Zeta and Omicron. I know this is the second story I've used it in, but it's cool enough that I wanted it to play a huge role in the story)**

"-there is a large island. Most people who live near it know nothing of it, since the town they live in is so far up and out of the way, they can't see it. The island is usually used as a Trainer Resort, where top notch trainers gather to share stories, relax, and of course, battle. We managed to secure permission to host it there. There are living accommodations and battle facilities large enough to host something on this scale there, so it just fit the bill perfectly."

"I don't understand why telling me where this tournament is is going to cheer me up" May said shortly.

"Hold your Horseas, I promise you, you'll cherish that information in a moment here" Scott said. "Anyways, the way it works, is that any Trainer who has at least made it to the Victory Tournament in a league competition, or is registered in the Hall of Fame can enter. Also, all of those in Pokemon League and Hall of Fame employment, all the way from Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains, to even the Elite 4 and Champions, are obligated to participate. Even if a trainer hasn't been in the Hall of Fame or a league competition, they can still enter if they used to hold a position like that, if they want to." Scott flashed a smile. "Like your friend from Pewter City, for example."

"Anyways, this tournament is very prestigious. Not only will it be aired live globally, but the rewards are staggering. Anyone who makes it into the top 256 will earn themselves an entry in the Hall of Fame. Keep in mind, while that seems like a large margin, we will have several thousand trainers entering. Anyone making is into the top 32 will receive, let's just say, a small fortune, enough to live in luxury and retire before you hit your thirties. A quarterfinalist get's a special stamp on their Trainer card, which will allow you to get special discounts anywhere you go for the rest of your life. Really makes life easy on you, you know?"

"That's nice and all, Scott, but I think that it's better I train up and get ready for the Pokemon League when it comes back" May said. "A couple months of training would really help us-"

"Hang on, I wasn't quite done yet" Scott said. "Ranking prizes are everything to drawing in contestants, and you haven't heard the prize for #1 yet."

"Alright, go on" May said.

"I will" Scott nodded. "Semifinalists and above will receive one of the greatest gifts a trainer could ask for. A set of three Master Balls for each of them. The Devon Corp. and Silph Co. really had to work overtime to make sure of this, and each one of them cost a fortune to make. The runner-up will get their choice of just about anything they want, from becoming a Pokemon League Champion to setting up their own Battle Frontier style challenge. However, the number one trainer won't need any of that. We have some guys out and about looking for a special Pokemon to give as the grand prize. We don't assume that we will have any luck finding a Legendary Pokemon like a Latios, let alone catching it, but beyond a special Pokemon, the winning trainer will receive, none other than the one title that they all strive to achieve."

May grew wide eyed. "You don't mean..?"

Scott smiled. "Yup, the winner of the whole shebang becomes an official, Pokemon Master. Beyond all the previous prizes they get to hold the most sought-after title to ever exist."

May stared in shock as she realized just what this meant. "No way, just like that, you could become a Pokemon Master?"

"Well, it isn't going to be easy" Scott said. "Not only will you have to contend with other Trainers, some of world renowned skill, but as I said before, individuals such as Champions will be participating in the competition. I pity the trainers who are matched up with the likes of Cynthia or Wallace."

May began to fill up with a sense of excitement and joy, but then it faded. "Only, I can't enter…"

Scott's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Why not?"

May sighed. "I got so excited, I almost forgot. I'm not listed in the Hall of Fame, nor have I even participated in a League match, let alone advanced to the Victory Tournament. I'm not Gym Leader, Elite 4 member, Frontier Brain, or any of that. I'm just not _qualified_."

Scott laughed. "What's so funny?" May asked angrily, frowning.

"You see, this is the advantage of knowing people in high places" Scott chuckled. "Tell you what. I've seen you battle, I know the Pokemon you will be battling with, and I know why and who you're battling for. I'll make an exception and add you to the roster, that is if you are up for it."

"Yes, yes, I'll take it!" May said energetically. "I'll do it without hesitating!"

"You already have" Scott laughed. "Only thing you have to do is be ready fast. Vesryn isn't any train ride away. You could Fly there on a Pokemon, but the Pokemon that live there are very powerful, so I would recommend taking a plane. The Pokemon will respect a man-made craft like that, but love to challenge themselves against other Pokemon."

"Right!" May nodded confidently. "I'll start making the preparations right away!"

Scott chuckled. "And I hope you don't disappoint. Of course, I don't think you will. A Coordinator's moves in a Trainer's field. That will surely spice things up a bit."

Scott got out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it. "Here's the info on the whole thing. The time it starts, where the next planes leaving for there are, and some other bits of information you may find useful. Share it with your friends, too. Maybe Brock will need a break from his Doctor training."

May nodded. "Right. Thank you so much, Scott!"

"No problem. I'll see you there" Scott said, standing up. Holding out his hand, he smiled. "And in case I don't get a chance to talk to you there, I wish you the best of luck."

Clasping his hand, May smiled in a fiery way. "Thanks."

Nodding, Scott turned back to where May had just walked from, while May continued on towards the Pokemon Center. Looking at the note Scott left her, she began studying it. "Let's see, starts in three days? Wow, not much time. Best flight would probably be from the Goldenrod Airfield, okay, just got to catch a Magnet Train over also. Friends and family are welcome to come and watch. Maybe my friends will come, but I'm sure as hell not inviting _him_ " she thought viciously.

Rounding the corner, the Pokemon Center came into view. Standing out front, Dawn, Max, and Gary were all in deep conversation with one another. As she came into view, Dawn was the first one to notice May. She stood up and waved her over, the others noticing her as she did this.

May approached and tried to put a smile on her face. Her euphoria from learning about the tournament was a bit faded, and wasn't able to block out the bad memories of the time. "Hey guys!"

"Hey May" Max got up, running over. "How did the Gym Battle go?"

"Are you kidding?" Gary asked sarcastically, walking over. "My little cousin never stood a chance against her."

"Um, your 'little cousin' is about ten years older than you" Dawn pointed out.

"Which makes it all the more embarrassing for him" Gary shrugged. Turning to May, he spoke again. "You did win, right? I'd hate to have to eat my own words."

Smiling, May held out her hand and revealed the Earth Badge sitting in it. "It only took Blaziken and Sceptile" she said.

"Great job, May!" Dawn cheered, hugging her friend.

"I bet I could've done it too" Max said.

May rolled her eyes. "Please, you just started a year ago."

"Yeah, and I already competed in the Ever Grande Conference and made it to the top 16" Max said. "That's as good as Ash-" Max stopped himself too late.

May bit her lip, and Dawn looked down at the ground. Even Gary looked a little depressed. "May, I'm sor-"

"Never mind it, Max" May said, staying strong. "The Ash we knew wouldn't want us to grieve for him forever. He would want to be remembered, not pined for, that was his way."

Gary nodded. "Couldn't have put it better myself. I knew him since we were just kids living together in Pallet Town. I'll tell you, he may have been hot headed, and he could have a temper, but he never wanted anyone to feel badly just because of him."

Dawn stood up and pecked Gary on the cheek. "That was sweet, Gary."

Gary blushed lightly. "Yeah, thank you."

Dawn chuckled. "Come on, it's been three months, when are you going to be comfortable?"

Gary just blushed harder at this. Max, on the other hand, laughed. "Wow, never seen anyone leave him so speechless."

May smiled sadly as she looked at the two of them. "Well, guys, how about we head back in? I'm a bit tired."

Dawn nodded. "Sounds good."

The four walked through the front door to the Pokemon Center. As they entered, Nurse Joy walked up to them. "Hello, Miss Maple. I have someone who wants to have a phone call with you."

"Yeah, where from?" May asked.

"From the Petalburg Gym" Nurse Joy responded.

May's expression turned into almost a vicious snarl. "Thanks, but I don't talk to anyone there."

Nurse Joy looked frightened by the look May had. "Very well, would you like to leave a message?"

"Was is a man?" she asked. When Joy nodded, May said "Okay, tell him to leave me alone or go jump in a lake."

Joy nodded nervously and ran off. Max gave his sister a reproachful look. "May, I'm mad at Dad too, but isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Harsher than attacking a boy, after giving his life to save his daughter, in his final moments?" May asked forcibly. "I'm never forgiving that man."

Max looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't force this issue. Instead, he noticed the slip of paper in May's hand. "What's that for?" he asked.

Looking down at it, she sighed. "It's a long story. I'll tell you guys in the room."

 _ **The Valley of Rota**_

Ash touched down on a firm patch of dirt. Looking up, he could see the Tree of Beginning looming above him. "I'm here" he mumbled.

Ash pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it in the air. "Come on out, Riolu."

In a flash of light, the small Pokemon materialized in front of him. Taking in a deep breath, Riolu sighed contentedly. "Riiiiii…"

Ash smiled. "Come on, we have a bit of a hike going up in front of us, so we'd better get moving."

Riolu nodded and stepped forward. However, as soon as it's foot touched the ground, Riolu stopped and looked around. Its ears went up, as if it were sensing for something.

Ash went on the defensive. He knew that Riolu must feel something, otherwise he wouldn't be acting this way. Ash felt nothing when he reached out with his aura, but he didn't need to for long. He felt a tremor run through the ground beneath him, gradually growing stronger.

Ash looked for the source until it had moved almost right under his feet. Looking at the ground, something burst forth from underground and landed right in front of them.

Ash's guard went down as he saw who was in front of him. "Regirock, it's just me" he said calmly.

Studying Regirock, it didn't look like it was looking for a fight, but he knew something was wrong.

"Rererereregigiregirock" it beeped out, flailing its club-like arms.

Ash frowned. "I don't know what's happening, Regirock, can you show me what's going on?"

Regirock appeared to bow, which Ash interpreted as a nod. Stomping away at speeds Ash wouldn't have thought possible of the bulky Pokemon, Ash sprinted off to keep up with it. Trampling through the trees, the group came to a stop in the shrubbery on the side of the road that led from Cameron Palace to the Tree of Beginning.

Looking out at the road, Ash saw nothing, besides the tracks of some Pokemon. "What exactly am I-?" he began to ask, when he heard Riolu bark behind him. Turning around, he saw that Riolu was standing by a small, almost crystalline bulb.

"A Time Flower, great thinking Riolu" Ash praised. He turned to Regirock. "Something happened here earlier, I'm guessing?"

"Rororegirock" Regirock beeped, bowing/nodding again.

"Alright" Ash said. He kneeled down and brought his hand forward, approaching the Time Flower. As it drew near, the bulb opened up and an orb of light rose from it. Ash backed away and stood up as the three of them were enveloped in a hologram.

Looking around at the earlier version of the road, Ash didn't see anything drastically different. That's when he heard the sounds.

Stepping out onto the road, Ash saw a pair of what looked like hunters coming up the path. As they drew near, he could hear their voices.

"-Haven't seen a single Pokemon yet" the first hunter said. "If we want the reward for bringing in the prize Pokemon, then why don't we go to a more populated area?"

"Moron, it's quality, not quantity that will score that check" hunter 2 said. "I hear tales about rare and powerful Pokemon living up in this area. Our patience will be rewarded if we just keep at it."

Some bushes rustled on their right. The two quickly turned to look at the disturbance, but all that came out were a pair of Rattata.

The first hunter roared with laughter. "Yup, that's rewarding our patience all right!"

With disgust, the second reached for a Pokeball on his belt. "Houndoom, clear out the small fry!" he shouted, releasing the Hellhound Pokemon.

Houndoom landed on the path in front of the Rattata, spooking them. "Foul Play, Houndoom!" the hunter snarled.

Houndoom glowed with purple energy, before darting forward and tackling the Rattata far into the trees. "Tataaaaaaaaaaaa" they squealed.

Ash clenched his fists. "Evil bastards" he muttered viciously.

"There, maybe that will convince all the little garbage Pokemon to stay out of our way" he said angrily.

Hearing a strange noise behind him, Ash turned around to see who else had arrived at the scene. A noise that could only be described as, sparkly, was heard as a small, pink cat-like Pokemon soared into view.

"Mew?" Ash asked.

Mew didn't respond, or even appear to notice him. Narrowing his eyes, Ash realized that this was Mew from the image that was being shown to him right now.

For such a clam Pokemon, Mew was exerting a lot of rage. It almost had an aura of red as it clenched its hands together. Mew began to glow, and morph. Its tail grew thicker, its body much longer, its head elongated, and limbs extended.

Mew finished its transformation into a Zoroark and leapt out onto the path in front of the hunters. "Raaaaaaaaa!" it shrieked.

The two stumbled. The first hunter smirked. "Here we are. That there's a Zoroark, they're rare, them."

The second hunter nodded and pulled out a Pokeball. "Right, let's go Galvantula!"

The Elespider Pokemon came out next to Houndoom. "Galvannnnnn…" Galvantula hissed.

"Hooooooounnnnn" Houndoom growled.

Mew snarled at the two Pokemon, then darted forward. Nearly disappearing in the blinding light, Mew struck each Pokemon near-simultaneously.

The Houndoom-hunter stumbled. "Wow, that was one fast Quick Attack, the fastest I've ever seen!"

"Fools" Ash muttered, referring to both the hunters and Mew. Mew was getting cocky and using moves that a Zoroark couldn't know. It was lucky that they only thought of its Extremespeed as a Quick Attack.

"Galvantula, use Spider Web!" the hunter commanded.

"And Houndoom, keep that Zoroark on its toes with Flamethrower" the other did.

Galvantula began spraying the ground and the trees with cobwebs while Houndoom rapid-fired Flamethrowers towards Mew, who dodged them with ease, but then began moving more carefully due to the cobwebs in the vicinity.

As Galvantula sprayed the last web, it turned back to the battle. Mew put its hands together and gathered a ball of energy, then swung it at the Houndoom. Focus Blast struck hard, sending the Houndoom flying into a tree and sticking on the webs there.

"Galvantula, use Thunderbolt" it was told.

Galvantula rubbed its feelers together and shot a bolt of lightning towards Mew. Sparks began travelling down Mew's arm.

"Mew, no" Ash muttered.

Thrusting its hand forward, Mew unleashed its own Thunderbolt to counter Galvantula's. Mew's quickly overwhelmed Galvantula's Thunderbolt and pushed it back, knocking it out cold.

Both hunters blinks. "Did, did you see that?"

The Houndoom hunter nodded. "That is one extremely powerful Zoroark. Our Pokemon are top notch, and all it took was two attacks from that thing."

"And not just that" the Galvantula hunter smirked. "It knows some pretty uncommon moves also."

"Hmm?" hunter 1 asked, eyebrows raised. Then it dawned on him. "Riiiiiiight, a Zoroark can't normally use a Thunderbolt like that. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Mew, get out of there" Ash said.

However, rather than leave, Mew approached the hunters, claws glowing for a Shadow Claw. Ash saw the hunters reach in their pockets…

Mew darted forward, ready to attack, but at that very second, the two hunters both tossed something at it. The first object hit Mew in the chest, extending into glowing blue wires that wrapped around it and shocked it. "Raaaaaaaa!" Mew shrieked in pain.

The second object landed on the ground underneath Mew's feet. It burrowed, and in seconds, metal bars were popping out of the ground, surrounding Mew and connecting at the top, forming a cage, with Mew trapped inside.

The shocking wires stopped and fell off Mew, and at that point, Mew realized at it had been trapped. Glaring at the hunters, Mew took a deep breath, and opened wide, but nothing came out.

The hunters roared with laughter. "Give up, fella, that's Pokeball technology there. Once inside, all your abilities and moves are negated until you're released. That means that you're coming with us, whether you like it or not."

The two of them each grabbed the bars on the cage and began to pull. Mew lashed out at them, but as it drew near the bars, an invisible force sparked and knocked Mew back. "Feisty one, isn't it?" the hunter asked. "Yeah, he'll make a great reward for the Vesryn Global Cup."

The cage was dragged until it was out of sight, and moments after, Ash heard the distinct sound of the ignition of a vehicle. As he heard it driving away, the light around him faded, leaving him back in the present, and in shock.

Ash clenched his fists. "I can't believe that those swine caught Mew!" he bellowed. Turning to Regirock, he asked "Do you have any idea of where they went?"

Regirock looked down in shame. "Rockrockregirereregirock" it beeped.

Ash growled and turned back to the road. Stepping out into the middle of it, Ash realized that markings of the battle were still there, but too faded to notice if you didn't know what had happened. Which meant that it had been some time since that battle took place. A few days? A week?

A sense of fear gripped Ash's heart. Looking up at the landmass above him, he realized, with cold certainty, that it was in danger. "The Tree depends on Mew" Ash said. "I don't know if just being separated or captured severes the link, or if it takes time to set in, or whatever, but all of the Pokemon in the Tree are in danger if we don't get Mew back."

Ash crossed his arms and thought. "But how am I going to do this. I don't even know where to begin, or where to find them. They said something about a Vesryn Global Cup, whatever that it." Thinking hard, Ash groaned as the answer came to him. "Well, I guess I have no choice. I'll have to actually ask for help on this one. No, he'll probably make me beg and plea. Well, actually, he will have a reason to help me of his own accord. Yeah, okay."

Ash felt back where he had come from. "Mewtwo, MEWTWO?" he called telepathically.

"Look who came crawling back" the voice drawled. "What do you need? First you insult me, close yourself off from me, and now you contact me in less than an hour of your leaving?"

"If you would shut up for a moment," Ash said, "I would have told you about the bad news here."

"What, if one of your partners get injured, it's not my fault."

"Imbecile" Ash thought, not sending that one. "No, this affects you too. Your counterpart, Mew, was captured."

Ash sensed a feeling of shock come through, and seconds later, Mewtwo was standing in front of him. "You're serious, someone captured him?"

"Well, looks like you do care about your so-called 'inferior clone' after all" Ash said.

Mewtwo frowned. "Just because I don't want to disappear doesn't mean that I care about that pink rat."

"I know, you've already told me how your life force is linked to Mew's" Ash said. "But still, I would think that you would care about a little more than just your own hide here. Don't you know that the Tree of Beginning also depends on Mew? If Mew gets hurt, many Pokemon could easily be injured, or worse. Haven't you spent your entire life since New Island trying to help Pokemon, not just the clones you made?"

Mewtwo stared coldly at Ash. "You obviously don't know me very well, then."

"Or I know you better than you know yourself" Ash countered.

Snarling, Mewtwo turned. "How do you even know that Mew was captured?"

Ash pointed at the Time Flower on the ground. "This told me, showed me everything."

Mewtwo looked at the flower. "Show me as well then, so I can understand things better."

Alright, here goes" Ash said, approaching the Time Flower once more.

 _ **Viridian Pokemon Center**_

"So let me get this straight" Gary said.

The four of them were sitting down in their room at the Pokemon Center, after what had happened earlier. As they chatted, May brought up the topic of what she had learned from Scott.

"There's a massive tournament going down, globally renowned, and you want to enter it for the chance to become a Pokemon Master for Ash?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, you just summed it up" May said.

Dawn looked at her friend. "May, I know that you want to do this for Ash, but do you really think that you'll be at the top of your game at this time of year."

"Of course" May almost yelled, scaring her friend. "Sorry, you know me at this time. Yeah, it's a hard time for this to be going on, but it's not like there's anything else I could be doing. I might as well take a shot at this since nothing else will be going on while it is. The way I see it, even if I fail, it will be a great warmup for the Indigo Conference."

Max looked at his sister in awe. "Well, May, if you're entering, then I'm entering too."

Dawn smiled. "And I bet it will be a good experience for you and your Pokemon also."

Max nodded excitedly. "Yeah, I bet Grovyle will be so psyched for this, I can't wait."

"Well, you guys won't have to wait long" May said. "According to what Scott told me, the things goes off in three days."

"Wow, three days? Isn't that a bit soon?" Dawn asked.

"No problem" Gary said, looking at the sheet of paper that May had had. "According to this, there's a nice flight there from Goldenrod City in Johto. I can drive us to Saffron in my convertible and we can catch the Magnet Train over."

"You still have that old thing?" Dawn asked. "I remember Ash told me you were using it since day one of your journey."

"Well, it was mainly to show off back then" Gary said. "But I can finally put it to use for the first time in a while. Researchers don't usually use convertibles for expeditions."

Max took the paper from Gary. "Ok, but where is this place we're going to, anyways? Vesryn Global Cup? I've never heard of this Vesryn."

"Oh, I have" Gary said. "It's pretty far East of Kanto. The place is dangerous, but a researcher's dream. I've heard tales of mutated Pokemon that have changed their appearance and type to survive in bad conditions, and of moves and abilities never seen in any other region. Not to mention, it's home to some of the most powerful Pokemon and Trainers that the world knows."

"Sounds like an intense place" Dawn laughed nervously.

"Yeah, but like I said, any researcher from an outside region would kill to be able to work out there" Gary said. "Of course, many of them don't have strong enough Pokemon to protect them out there, but Gramps was there for a little while in his early years, and he's told me all sorts of things about it."

"It sounds cool too, I wonder how much we'll get to see while we're there" Max said.

"So Gary, how early will we have to leave to get there in time?" May asked.

"Oh, not too long" Gary said. "While most travelers take pathways across regions, most of them actually have pretty long stretches of highways. None going directly to Saffron, but we can at least not have to drive through Mt. Moon to get there. If we leave before noon tomorrow, we should be in Johto early enough to avoid any problems."

"Cool" Dawn said. "Does that mean that we have time to go out to dinner tonight before we have to turn in? You know, to celebrate May's victory at the gym?"

"Sure, why not?" Gary said.

May's stomach rumbled loudly at the thought of food. "Alright, I'm in" she said. "Let's not forget to call our friends to invite them, also. Who knows, some of them may want to cheer us on, some might want to compete also."

"Right, I'll go make some calls now before we leave" Max said, running out the door.

Getting up, Gary said "Us too." He and Dawn walked out into the hall.

"I'll be right there guys" May said. As the door shut, she went and flopped down on the bed. "Ash, all I can hope is that you're watching me up there. I'm doing this for you. You gave your life for me that day, and I'm not going to leave that debt unpaid. I miss you more than anything" her voice now cracking. Taking a deep breath, she let the rest out. "I love you, you were my first, and only love, and I feel like my life is empty without you here. But you wouldn't want me to waste the live you gave me, so I'm not going to."

"May, you coming?" Dawn's voice came from down the hall.

"Yeah" May said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and responded much more clearly. "Yeah, I'm coming."

 _ **The Valley of Rota**_

"So, Mew got cocky and got caught?" Mewtwo huffed.

"That pretty much sums it up" Ash agreed.

"So what do you propose we do about it?" Mewtwo asked.

Ash shrugged. "I was hoping you might have an idea. They mentioned a tournament, a Versyn Global Cup. Do you have any idea what that might be?"

If Mewtwo could go pale, it just did. "Please tell me that you were choking on something and didn't mean to say Vesryn."

"What's wrong with that place?" Ash asked.

Mewtwo groaned. "It's only the strongest land in the world. I was there once when I was flying around the world. I met a Staraptor up in the sky there. That lowly Staraptor nearly knocked me out of the sky with its Brave Bird attack. Beyond that, a trainer from Vesryn once came to New Island while I still lived there. He challenged me, and defeated me with just three of his Pokemon. Sure, I've gotten stronger since then, but the place is no laughing matter."

"So, a tournament is being held in a dangerous local like that? I can only think that Mew must have been captured for a prize" Ash reasoned.

"It was shocking when I realized that there were trainers out there with even the lesser of Legendary Pokemon, like Heatran or Darkrai" Mewtwo muttered. "But a trainer controlling a force like Mew would be unthinkable."

Ash thought hard. "Not many people know about me, only a scarce few who have seen me when I was dealing with Pokemon disasters. But if I was caught stealing the prize Pokemon for a tournament, everyone would probably think that i was no better than a criminal organization like Team Rocket."

"That would severely limit your power of a force of balance and the effectiveness of my hideout if you were being tracked" Mewtwo agreed. "So what do you suppose we do?"

Ash looked at the sky. Sighing, he said "The only idea that comes to mind would be having to enter the tournament ourselves, and trying to win Mew. That might be the best course of action here."

Mewtwo stared at Ash. "You can't be serious? In a location like Vesryn, you could be destroyed by any trainer."

"I don't think that this will be just natives" Ash said. "It was called a _Global Cup_ , which makes me think that other regions will be participating as well. Besides, if a battle begins to look bad, I have a secret weapon I can use."

"You do?" Mewtwo asked incredulously. Noticing Ash's hard look at him, Mewtwo got the point. "Right, you do…"

"Besides, my Pokemon are tougher than average" Ash said. "Our lifestyle makes it so that they need to be stronger than normal, remember?"

"I agree, they are strong from the standpoint of species average, but are they enough?" Mewtwo asked.

"I'm sure" Ash responded.

Mewtwo nodded. "I don't doubt your abilities, Chosen One, but neither do I doubt the Vesryn Trainers. I'll help, if only to save Mew and myself. I can be humble when I need to be."

"Then where were you the last several times?" Ash asked. "Kidding" he quickly said, seeing the death glare that Mewtwo was giving him.

Huffing Mewtwo looked at Ash softer. "How do you presume we prepare for this?"

Ash closed his eyes and thought. "I'm going to need all of my partners for this. Rotom will probably have to change my Pokedex info so that it doesn't ring any alarm bells. Just my name, should be fine. How about… Aaron Satoshi? That sounds good."

"Aaron Satoshi?" Mewtwo asked.

"Sir Aaron was also an aura guardian, so it makes sense" Ash said. "And my mom once told me that 'satoshi' means 'ash' in another language. I'm just trying to go for something easy to remember so that I don't slip up."

"Alright then, there's some logic to that" Mewtwo conceded. "I can gather some Sitrus Berries from around Mt. Quena so that we can sustain your Pidgeot on our flight. My Teleport doesn't go that far."

Ash sighed. "Also, we're going to be around a lot of people. I think that we may need some company besides my Pokemon to blend in. Do you think that you could go check with my sister, and ask her if she wanted to accompany us?"

Mewtwo looked at Ash. "I still don't see how 'your sister' is a good alias for her. You two look nothing alike. I would think that 'your partner' would be more believable."

Ash's gaze hardened. "No, I won't use that. Not ever for anyone will I use that."

Mewtwo raised its hands. "Alright, sorry I struck a nerve there. What else?"

Ash thought a bit more. "I would fetch your gauntlets and stones, just in case we need an extra boost."

Mewtwo nodded. "Good idea, I usually don't like using those stones of a crutch, but in a case like this, I'll make an exception. Should I grab the one set aside for Pidgeot as well?"

"Yeah, sounds good" Ash said.

Mewtwo nodded. "Also, if you needed more powerful allies, perhaps the golems that are stationed here could be of some service."

Ash shook his head. "No, they need to guard the Tree, especially with Mew gone. I can do this with just the Pokemon I have."

"If you say so" Mewtwo said. In a flash, the three of them were back on Mt. Quena. "I would prepare and gather your partners. Stock up on supplies too. It will probably take about a straight 24 hours to fly from here to there, so you need to sustain at least yourself and Pidgeot on the flight."

Ash nodded. "Right. I'll take care of gathering my Pokemon, and you go grab my sister if she wants to come. We should probably leave soon, today would be best. Pidgeot will need to rest along the way."

Mewtwo gave Ash a nod of respect, then vanished. Ash walked down into the field and started grabbing his Pokemon. Riolu and Pidgeot stood behind him, and he went to gather the rest. Lapras was resting in the river, Primeape was sparring with his Volcarona, and Butterfree was playing with Kirlia. Rotom was darting around, playing pranks on everyone, and Ash made sure to get it to behave.

Once they were all gathered, Ash explained the situation. "Ok, guys, listen up. Our friend Mew has been captured, and in order to get it back, we need to compete in a tournament. For some of you guys, these will be your first official battles. I'll take care of you" he said, looking at Rotom, Volcarona, and Kirlia. "For you other guys, you know the drill. I'm going to recall you guys for now, since we've got to get going, and I'll let you out when we get there, alright?"

Ash's veterans cheered. It was hard to read Rotom's personality, as it always appeared excited, but he returned with no fight. Kirlia looked nervous, but Butterfree soothed it. Volcarona seemed to be pumped for a real fight, and also dived right back into its ball.

Ash had just recalled the last one when Mewtwo returned with a young girl by his side. She had brown eyes and auburn hair, shaping in an almost wing-like shape.

Ash walked over to join them. As he approached, the young girl tackled him with a hug. Ash laughed. "Yeah, it's been a while, it's good to see you too."

The girl smiled and looked up at Ash, not saying anything.

Ash stood back. "Has Mewtwo explained what we're doing here?" She nodded her head. "Ok. I'm think that you should stay like this to avoid attracting attention, at least in public. While we Fly there, I think you should ride on Pidgeot with me too, so that there's less chance of you being spotted." She nodded again, showing that she agreed.

Mewtwo held a bag in his hands, filled with Sitrus Berries. He also was wearing a two sided arm band, inlaid with 2 marblelike stones, one on each side. He tossed a few more stones at Ash, which he caught. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out an anklet. Turning to Pidgeot, he fitted it around his leg and pushed a stone in.

"Alright, Pidgeot, this should help you get across the ocean much faster, ok?" Ash said.

"Pidgooooo" Pidgeot cried.

"Alright" Ash said. "We're almost set to go, then. I'm just going to gather a few supplies, then we can head out, ok?"

Pidgeot bobbed its head, then flew off towards the stream for a drink.

Turning back to Mewtwo, Ash gave him a serious look. "Tell me, any other good ideas for what to prepare?"

"Not one, I think we've done everything possible, unless you want the clones to come with us to battle."

"No, I'll use the Pokemon I know best" Ash said. "Besides, even if I wanted to, I don't have enough Pokeballs for all of them."

"Fair point" Mewtwo said. "I'll help gather supplies so that we can leave. I worry for the safety of the Pokemon in the Tree, so we need to get Mew back, safe and sound, as soon as possible."

"Agreed" Ash said. "Come on, let's gather some food and water so we can do just that."

 _ **(Next Day) Goldenrod Airfield**_

"What did I tell you, we're here right on time. The flight leaves in half an hour, and we're standing right outside of the plane" Gary said.

The four had arrived at the Goldenrod Airfield, as Gary had said it, with time to spare. The Magnet Train had been an easy ride heading over to Johto, and now that they were there, all they had to do was wait to board.

May looked at the sky. "So, you guys know who's coming? Are they going to be here?"

"Nah, no one was in the area" Gary said. "They'll be coming, just not on this flight. Brock's coming, Misty, as a Gym Leader, has to come too. Cilan will actually be catering there, and we all know why Iris will be there. I also heard that some of Ash's old friends will be there, like Ritchie, Harrison, Morrison, Paul, Trip, and even that dude Ash lost to in the Sinnoh Conference. This isn't going to be an easy bout for any of us, myself included."

"Wait, you're entering too?" Dawn asked.

"I figured that it'd be neat" Gary said. "I qualify from my position in the Silver Conference, and it's been a while, so I figured, what the heck?"

"So May, which Pokemon are you bringing, at least for the preliminaries?" Max asked.

"Let's see here" May said, looking at her belt. "I left Pikachu at the ranch, at least for now. He wanted to give some of the others a shot. I'm keeping Blaziken and Wartortle on me, and I'm also bringing Infernape, Sceptile, Swellow, and Oshawott."

"Wow, you chose nearly all starter Pokemon, besides Swellow" Gary commented. "You sure that's a good idea? Trainers there will be packing serious heat."

"Hey, no need to worry, Gary" Dawn said. "May's an awesome trainer and coordinator, she can win with just about any Pokemon."

"Whenever you say that, that's when I worry the most" Gary said jokingly, earning a shove from Dawn.

May turned away from the scene and reached into her pocket, pulling out the Terracotta Ribbon. Holding it in her hand, the pain of losing Ash felt fresh, yet it made her remember all the times they had together, as if he was right there next to her.

"You know, May, you aren't the only one that keeps a remembrance of him" Gary said behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he sneaked up on her like that. "Ash told me about your guys' split medal when we met up in Sinnoh. I have something like that myself." Gary reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like the bottom half of a minimized Pokeball. "When we were young, me and Ash had a huge fight over this old thing. Then we kept it as a token of friendship. Now, it's my reminder of Ash, how even when you were as bad as you could be to him, he would always win you over in the end with his personality. And I don't want to forget that person, ever."

May's heart filled with emotion hearing Gary's words. "I, I never knew that you two were that close as kids. I just thought that you were Ash's annoying rival."

"Hey, I'm not annoying" Gary complained.

"Depends on the time of day" Dawn chuckled.

"Aw, come on, that's not very-" Gary was cut off but a kiss from Dawn.

Dawn pulled back. "You're not always annoying, you know, but I love you no matter what the time."

Gary was blushing profusely, sincerely speechless. May laughed. "You know, sooner or later he'll be comfortable enough that you won't be able to quiet him so easily, so cherish it while it lasts."

Dawn blushed at this too. "Yeah, I will."

" _ATTENTION PASSENGERS, PLEASE BOARD THE PLANE NOW! WE WILL BE DEPARTING SOON!"_

"I guess that's our cue" May said, grabbing her bags. "Are you guys ready to go somewhere new?"

"You bet we are" Max pumped his arm. "I can't wait to see this place."

Gary was finally able to speak again. "Gramps told me that it's beautiful there. I guess that I'll only have to take his word for it for another few hours."

Dawn grabbed her suitcase. "I'm not going to be participating myself, but you can bet that I'll be cheering each of you on myself."

"Speaking of which, if May has to battle Gary, who are you going to be rooting for?" Max asked.

"Oh, I, um, uh, that's, ah, oh" Dawn stuttered, earning a grin from Max.

"Quit being annoying" May told her brother.

"I don't know, May, you're asking an awful lot of him" Dawn said.

"Hey!" Max protested.

"Hey, sorry to cut in here guys, but if we hand out here much longer, that plane's going to take off without us" Gary said.

"Oh yeah, we don't want that to happen" Dawn yelped, scampering up the plank into the plane.

Max strained his arms pulling at his suitcases. May sighed and walked over, picking up one of them for him. "I swear, I'm not sure how you survived your Hoenn journey alone."

"Shut it, Sis" Max grunted.

The two loaded up on the plane and took seats next to Dawn and Gary. They settled their bags under their seats and buckled in. They just got settled when the doors closed.

Max looked out the window. "Any minute now, guys, and we'll be someplace completely new. This must be how it felt whenever Ash discovered a new region."

May smiled sadly. "Yeah, I remember when he discovered Sinnoh from the postcard Gary sent him. He was down from a losing streak, but he also had a spark of excitement in his eyes the moment he heard about Sinnoh."

The plane shook and began moving. Dawn looked around the cabin. "Do you think that all of these passengers are here for the tournament?"

"Could be, or it could be trainers beginning a new journey" Gary said. "We aren't flying directly to the resort, guys, we'll have to switch once we land in this place called Fianga City. Then we can fly to the Spearpoint Resort from there."

"Wow, Gary, you've really did some research on this place, huh?" Dawn asked.

"Nah, just looked at our tickets and a map online" Gary said. "I looked into the place a bit though. This Fianga City is supposedly the most technologically advanced city in the region. I hope we have some time to explore before our connecting flight. They have a state of the art research center called the Pokehadron Collider that I wouldn't mind checking out."

They picked up speed racing down the runway. "What kind of research do they do there?" Max asked.

"Just about every kind" Gary said. "Evolution, Mega Evolution, Legendary Pokemon, Types, Myths, just about everything."

"Wow, now I want to check it out too" Max said excitedly.

Dawn got out a small pamphlet. "You know, I wish that Kanto had many airports, or at least a flight to this place" she said. "We literally went to Johto just to fly back across Kanto."

"Yeah, this flight does go pretty much straight East, but when you need a last minute flight, there's not much else you can do" Gary said.

"Yeah, that's a good point" Dawn said. She looked out the window and nearly shrieked. "Oh my Arceus, guys, look at that!"

"What is it?" Gary asked, looking around Dawn. His breath caught. "Oh wow…"

"Hmm?" Max asked, looking out his own window, behind the two. He gasped. "May, look down there, you'll never guess what we're passing over."

"What?" May asked. She was the last one to look out the window, and she perhaps recognized it better than anyone there.

"It's, it's the Tree of Beginning" she gasped.

"Hey, I've heard of that place" Gary said. "I almost thought it was a myth."

"What's the Tree of Beginning though?" Dawn asked.

"Well, it's an ancient place in a valley called Rota" Gary explained. "It's one of the few 'kingdoms' left in the world today, ruled by a queen. The Tree was a sight of an ancient, legendary war. There was a tale around it about an Aura Guardian who sacrificed himself to stop it all, by offering all of his power to a Mew."

"Wow, that sounds like an awesome story" Dawn breathed. "I really want to hear the full version sometime."

"It's not just a story" May muttered. "Me, Max, Brock, and Ash all went there one time."

Dawn looked back at the two. "Wow, really? Is is just as pretty up close?"

"Even prettier" May said. "But that's not all." Lowering her voice, she waved them closer. "We met Mew also."

Gary's eyes bugged. "That's incredible. Mew is the most elusive of all Pokemon. Do you mind telling us how you met it?"

"What?" May asked. "Well, I guess it would be okay. The story ends sadly though."

Max nodded with a depressed look in his eyes. "Yeah, but the adventure was still cool. I just wish that it didn't come to an end like that."

"Come on, you've tempted us so much, you have to share now" Dawn begged.

May chuckled. "Alright, but keep this between us, ok?"

"Right" Gary said.

"Sure" Dawn responded.

May nodded. "Well, it all started with a visit to the Cameron Palace in the Valley of Rota…"

 **Aaaaaand since you guys don't want me to recap the entire plot of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, that's where I'll end it, heh heh. I must say, I'm quite surprised. Even Joined Worlds wasn't his popular in the first 2 chapters as this one is. I guess Pokemon really is the most popular type of story, huh? Anyways, speaking of Joined Worlds, I'm going to begin alternating again. I've put all my effort into this story for a while to give it a head start, but that's unfair to all the people following it. But don't worry, I'll be back soon enough, so in the meantime, here are a few question that I would love to hear you guys speculate about.**

 **-How did Ash get Volcarona and Kirlia?**

 **-How big is this contest going to be?**

 **-What's going to happen to Mew?**

 **-What will the interaction between Ash and Mewtwo be like as time goes on?**

 **And the one that is probably got most of you curious right now, unless I overdid the description:**

 **-Who is 'Ash's Sister?'**

 **That will be all for now. I don't usually post speculation questions, but I figured that since already so many people are following it, it might be fun to be a bit interactive. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all soon. Cya!**


	4. A Spearpoint Welcoming

_**Sky**_

* * *

" _PIIIIIDGOOOOOOOOO!_ "

"Settle down, Pidgeot" Ash said soothingly.

Pidgeot soared through the sky, slicing through the air like an Air Slash through a Tangela. Upon his back, he carried his trainer and another passenger, as well as several bags of supplies. Right up alongside of them, Mewtwo dashed through the sky on his own. Mewtwo was wearing a brown jacket around his neck, the arms flapping in the wind.

" _Gooooooh, Pidgoooooooot!"_ Pidgeot cried out again.

Ash smiled. "Yeah, I know that it's great to get in a nice long fly, but we're trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, you know?"

"Avoid drawing the attention of who, the other trainers Flying halfway across the world on large Flying-Type Pokemon?" Mewtwo asked.

"Hey, you never know who else could be up here" Ash said. "For all we know, there could be some Team Rocket operatives out here. All it takes is a look at some old files in their database, and it doesn't matter how much you erased their memories. They'll be after you."

Mewtwo looked down at the blurred land below. "Fair enough. You would think that after protecting myself for the past ten years, I would be the one to think of that."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, well, I'm the one who's been turning privacy into a lifestyle here."

"That is true" Mewtwo agreed. He closed his eyes and sensed out with his Psychic energy. "If I were you, I would save as much energy as you can. I can use my Recover to sustain Pidgeot, but we still have a very long flight."

"About what's our ETA?" Ash asked.

"We have at least ten hours until we reach the region" Mewtwo answered. "Then from there, I'll probably be close enough to sense Mew's rough location, enough to point us in the right direction."

Ash nodded. "If I can sense out Mew's aura, then we will be able to head right for him, once we arrive."

"Are your powers refined enough for something on that scale yet?" Mewtwo asked.

"Maybe not to lead us directly to him from a distance" Ash said. "But once you point us in the right direction, we can get close enough for me to sense him out."

"Interesting" Mewtwo conceded. "I suppose that it was in good faith after all that my clone gave you that Riolu to train with."

"Your clone?" Ash asked. "Isn't it the other way around?"

Mewtwo growled. "Old wounds still hurt when they're poked."

"Sorry" Ash chuckled.

"How about you get some rest before I use Hypnosis to make you?" Mewtwo asked.

"You don't really care about me getting much rest, you know that I can do without it" Ash said. "You just want me to be quiet, don't you?"

Now it was Mewtwo's turn to smirk. "Guilty."

Ash sighed. "Well, it couldn't hurt to get some rest." He looked down at the Pokemon underneath him. "Hey Pidgeot, you okay without me for a while?"

" _Dgoooo_ " Pidgeot cawed.

Ash smiled at the comforting sound of his Pokemon's voice, and lied his head down on his back. However, he didn't close his eyes immediately. In fact, he struggled to.

"You know, sleep usually doesn't come while the eyes are open without heavy trauma to the head" Mewtwo commented.

Ash pushed himself back up. "Yeah, well, sleep isn't always a good thing."

"What has you so afraid of losing consciousness?" Mewtwo asked.

Ash sighed. "You asked earlier why I choose to go to Mew at this time of year, correct?" Mewtwo nodded, so he continued. "Well, the truth is, I'm still pretty messed up from what happened to bring me to you, all those years ago, and it get's worse around the time it happened. Mew helps me get through the month around it, to cope with it, so that I can make due and get along better for the rest of the time."

"Oh, so Mew is sort of your counselor?" Mewtwo asked.

"In a way, yeah" Ash said. "I just hope I hold it together until we can get Mew. My emotions tend to make my powers go haywire when they get too strong."

Ash felt a hand on his back. He turned around to see the young girl smiling sadly at him. A white light pulsed from her hand and into Ash's body. He immediately felt his stress and pain fade away, along with his consciousness, as he slipped away into dreamland.

Mewtwo looked down at the sleeping trainer. "That boy can sometimes astound me with his endurance" he thought. "After all this time, he has let no sign go of how deep he has been scarred. It almost reminds me of myself. Something's missing, and I know it, but I don't know what…"

Mewtwo shook his head and cleared it. "But that is of no consequence. Protectors such as him and myself have no time to wallow in self pity. If we fall, we pull the world down with us. The suffering of the few for the life of the rest, that is the philosophy of guardians."

* * *

 _ **Fianga City**_

* * *

" _Attention all passengers! We have now arrived at Fianga City of the Vesryn Region. Please dismount the plane with your carry-ons and enjoy your stay!_ "

Max burst from the plane doors and raced down to the ground. "Wow, we're actually here, I can't believe it!"

Gary stepped out behind him. "The air is cool and moist here, perfect environment for Water-Types and Grass-Types, I'd say. I wonder what species I can find here."

Dawn came strolling down the steps as well, cradling Piplup in her arms. "Look at this place, Piplup! Isn't it gorgeous?"

"Pip, pipiplup!" Piplup cried, taking in the new terrain.

Max turned around. "Where's May? I want to explore this place before we have to take off again towards the tournament!"

"I'm right here, calm down Max" May grouched, emerging from the plane. "Just because you have the energy of a Spoink that just ate its weight in Rare Candy, doesn't mean that we all do."

"I just want you to hurry" Max complained. "We only have about two hours to look around before we have to take off again, and we all have stuff that we want to check out."

"Yeah, I'm going to go check out the lab they have here, to see their studies" Gary said. "I hear their stuff in there is top notch!"

"I'll come with you too" Dawn said, walking up next to Gary and lacing hand hand through his. "I always wanted to see the professor in his natural habitat."

Gary chuckled nervously. "Heh heh, well, I suppose we'd better go find where it is, then."

"Aw man!" Max said as the two walked away. "I don't know about anything in this city. How are we supposed to know what to check out?"

May opened the pamphlet on Fianga City. "Well, they have a Gym here. Apparently the leader is a robot that used to work as a guard robot in another region called Orre. Then they also have a GTS here, where Trainers can meet up and even talk with each other from across the world, and battle, or even trade Pokemon with each other."

"Hey Sis, can I take a look at that?" Max asked.

May nodded and handed it over. Max scanned the pages so fast that his eyes blurred and that May got dizzy just watching. "Hey, apparently there are some tales of a rare Pokemon that lives in the area, one that the scientists at the Pokehadron Collider have befriended. Man, I would love to see it!"

"So we'd be following Gary and Dawn?" May asked. "Why don't we leave them be, and find something else to do?"

"Dangit, that sounded really co, _co,_ coool" Max yawned.

May sighed. "Max, did you stay up all night last night?"

"I couldn't help it, May" Max said. "I was too excited about our journey to even fall asleep."

May crossed her arms. "Well, I say that you should get some real rest then. We're all going to need our energy for the tournament you know."

"But I wanted to explore the town" Max complained.

"We can always come back and look around after the tournament" May said. "But it's important that we get some rest so that we can compete to our fullest."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess there's some truth to that" Max said. "Since when have you been the big bad battle expert?"

May smiled sadly. "Almost three years now…"

Max saw the meaning behind the words. "Oh, right. Well, let's look for a local Pokemon Center. Maybe we could have like an hour of rest."

"Right, and everything counts" May said. "According to the guide, there's a Pokemon Center just a block from here. We can lie down and set an alarm so that we catch our flight with Gary and Dawn."

"Right. After that, it's only another hour until we arrive" Max said. "I wonder how the resort looks. And what kind of trainers will be there."

"Questions for after we get some rest, Max" May chided. "Come on, let's find that Pokemon Center."

Max nodded. "Right."

* * *

 _ **?**_

* * *

" _You know that it's your fault that she's here!"_

 _"So, you decided to go and get my young girl hurt, did you!?"_

 _"I love you, May Maple…"_

" _Goodbye."_

Ash gasped and opened his eyes. He didn't find himself, however, upon his Pidgeot. He appeared on a beachfront, with the wide, expansive ocean in front of him. A thin, white mist hung in the air around him, making the whole place feel ethereal and mysterious.

"Wha- where is this?" Ash asked, looking around at his surroundings. Blank expanses of sand spreaded from out of sight one way, to out of sight the other. Behind him, the fog grew so thick that it appeared as a solid white wall, impenetrable.

Ash looked at his entire area in confusion. Looking down, he jumped in shock as he realized that he was wearing his old blue jacket, rather than his black robes. "How did I get here, where are the others?" he asked.

" _Ash…"_ a voice rang out behind him.

Ash flinched and turned around. The voice had come echoing out of the wall of fog behind him. Almost as if by magic, a hole opened up in the wall, and a scene was introduced beyond. Then, all of the breath left Ash's lungs.

"May?" he asked.

Through the wall, the image of the young brunette came into focus. She looked as beautiful as ever, and not a day older than she was when Ash last saw her. "May, is that you?!" Ash asked, running towards the mist. As he plunged into it, his entire vision was obscured. Then, it cleared, and Ash came running back to where he had just been standing.

" _Ash…"_ May called again.

"May, listen, I'm sorry, it's completely my fault. If I had only acted quicker…" Ash's voice broke as he spilled to May. "May, I tried, I didn't want you to go. I, I love you…"

" _Loved her? Yeah, right"_ a new voice came through.

Ash flinched, and the image of May morphed to Misty. " _If you had really loved her, you could have caught her. You've done it sooooo many times before. Obviously it wasn't important enough for you to do it this time."_

"No, no, that's not it" Ash moaned, clutching his head as his emotions began to boil.

The picture transformed again, this time taking on Norman's physique. " _I should never have let my daughter leave the house if all she was going to do was travel with swine like you who hurt her. You never had a chance with my little girl, and you showed it when you couldn't even keep her safe on a little hike!"_

Suddenly, the picture in the mist showed something very familiar. A scene that had haunted every dream he had had for the past three years. A stormy night, a steep cliffside, and a body lying at the bottom.

Ash's head began to pound in pain, and his entire body began to glow blue. "No, please, make it go away…" he moaned.

" _You made my daughter go away"_ the image of Norman said. " _Maybe I will make it go away, make it all go away, permanently, for you."_

The Norman in the mist took out a Pokeball and tossed it through the hole, onto the ground in front of him. Before Ash, a massive Slaking emerged onto the sand. " _Slaking, Hammer Arm!"_

"Slak!" Slaking roared, bringing his fist up, glowing white. Ash didn't bother to move, or to protest. His eyes closed and he looked down.

Slaking brought its fist down on Ash. However, just as it was about to connect, the entire ground shook violently. Slaking staggered and fell down in the sand, and Ash was knocked on his back. He was dimly aware of another voice calling his name.

" _Ash…"_

" _Ash…"_

" _ASH!"_

* * *

 _ **Sky**_

* * *

"Wha-?" Ash yelped, sitting straight upright. He realized that he was back on Pidgeot, with his sister behind him and Mewtwo darting next to them. Through the rushing currents of air, Ash realized that he had tears plastered on his cheeks, and his hands glowed faintly blue. Wiping his eyes and shaking his hands, Ash began to realize that something was wrong with the situation, but he didn't realize what until a Hyper Beam streaked past his head.

Mewtwo twisted around in midair and fired off a stream of purple pellets at a hoard of Dragonite chasing after them. There were six in all, and each one was alternately firing off Hyper Beams, aiming at Pidgeot and Mewtwo. Something was also weird about the Dragonite too. Each one was glowing with a faint rainbow hue.

"Mewtwo, what happened while I was out?" Ash roared, having to speak over the wind.

"We flew over a large patch of floating islands" Mewtwo said. "Next thing I know, we have a herd of Dragonite on our tail. Pokemon here are super-competitive, and no matter what I do, it's like they aren't feeling my attacks."

Frowning, Ash digged into his pocket and pulled out an old device that he rarely used anymore. Flipping open his Pokedex, he did a voice search. "Dexter, Dragonite!"

" **Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon. This extremely rare and highly intelligent-"**

"No, not the basic information" Ash said. "Dragonite with a rainbow light!"

" **When a Dragonite is covered with a rainbow light, it is a sign that its Multiscale ability has activated"** Dexter explained.

"What's Multiscale?" Ash asked.

" **Multiscale, a rare ability found on Pokemon. Multiscale is active when the Pokemon is fresh and in top form, and has taken little damage. While active, the Pokemon's defense is dramatically increased, making it very difficult to damage. However, once the Pokemon has sustained damage, the Multiscale will fade, leaving the Pokemon normal."**

Ash closed his Pokedex and growled. "If these guys are nearly impossible to damage, then how are we supposed to damage them to get it to deactivate?"

"I don't know" Mewtwo said. "My most powerful Psystrikes are just for show against these Pokemon."

"Hmm…" Ash thought, closing his eyes. "Dragonite are very powerful Dragon-Types, but Dragon-Types nonetheless." His eyes snapped open. "Mewtwo, can you do Ice Beam?"

"I can do you one better" Mewtwo said. Putting his hands together, frost gathered and swirled around in the space, before he thrust his hands forward and unleashed a powerful Blizzard attack.

The Dragonite were buffeted in the air and blown back. They shook it off and came back after them, but this time, they were normal.

"Alright Mewtwo, one more Blizzard should do the-" Ash said, before Pidgeot cawed in alarm.

Ash looked down and saw that Pidgeot, who had been in a near constant dive to avoid the Dragonite, was about to hit water. Leaning up quickly, nearly throwing Ash and his sister off, Pidgeot was now skimming the top of the waves. In the distance, Ash saw a very large island.

"That must be the resort!" he gasped.

Suddenly, there was an explosion above him. He looked up and saw that each Dragonite had launched a simultaneous Draco Meteor attack, and Mewtwo hadn't been fast enough to avoid it. Mewtwo plummeted towards the ocean.

"No, MEWTWO!" Ash yelled, standing up and leaping from Pidgeot to catch Mewtwo as he fell. He met him in mid air and caught him, falling towards the ocean again. Just as he was about to hit, Pidgeot swerved under him and caught him.

"Thanks Pidg-" Ash began to say before Pidgeot had to move crazily again, as the Dragonite had just launched another barrage of Draco Meteors at them.

"Dang. I don't know how we're going to survive long enough to make it to the island at this rate" Ash muttered. "Pidgeot can't fight, since he's carrying us. Mewtwo's down, Volcarona doesn't know any effective attacks against Dragon-Types. I'm out of tricks."

Behind him, Ash's sister stood up on Pidgeot. She looked at the oncoming Dragonite with a hard glare. Ash realized what she was planning. "Now, you shouldn't, you could get hurt."

Without acknowledging that she heard him, his sister jumped off of Pidgeot, towards the ocean. As she fell, she began to glow blue, and change shape. Her neck elongated, her legs shortened, her arms grew wider, and wings came out of her back.

"Sha!" Latias cried as she dashed into the sky, through the group of Dragonite before swooping back around.

The Dragonite turned to meet this new threat. They began rattling off Dragon Pulses as she came at them, but she artfully dodged every last one. Then, she opened her mouth, and a large amount of mist gathered. Then, she let rapid-fire Mist Balls fly, striking each Dragonite dead center. Each one took a heavy blow, knocked down towards the ocean, but catching themselves.

Latias began gathering energy for more Mist Balls, but the Dragonite immediately retreated, dashing back to where they had come from, back up the massive mountain behind them.

Latias dashed over and settled back down on Pidgeot, morphing back into a young lady. "..." she didn't say anything, but she smiled.

Ash chuckled. "Remind me to never underestimate you again" Ash said. Looking down at Mewtwo on his lap, he turned back to Latias. "Could you use a Heal Pulse on Mewtwo? He took a bad hit."

Smiling serenely, Latias reached her hand forward and settled it on Mewtwo's head. A white light pulsed from it, going into Mewtwo's body and spreading across it all. A moment after, Mewtwo's eyes opened blearily.

"Ugh, I was taken down by wild Pokemon, I'll never live this down" Mewtwo grouched, hovering back up and flying off to the side of Pidgeot.

"You took a combined six of the strongest Dragon-Type move known from some abnormally powerful Pokemon who are already very powerful as a species standard" Ash summed up. "I think that your honor is intact."

Mewtwo looked at Ash, then looked onwards. "We draw near" he said.

Looking forward, Ash realized that Mewtwo was right. The island spread out before them. Letting out a low whistle, Ash asked "Is that an island, or a small region?"

"You know how to find out" Mewtwo said. "You pointed us this way before you fell asleep. Sense out, see if he's here."

Ash nodded and closed his eyes. Holding out his hand, it glowed blue. Ash felt a familiar presence somewhere on the island. Opening his eyes, he nodded. "Yup, Mew's here."

Mewtwo nodded. "Very well." Noticing something on the island, Mewtwo frowned. "It would appear that we have a welcoming party."

"What?" Ash asked. Peering ahead through the wind, Ash realized that Mewtwo was right. On the beach in front of them, a man with large red hair was waving at them. "Crap" he said.

"What, who is it?" Mewtwo asked.

"It's nothing bad, but we're going to be a bit more well-known here that I thought" Ash said.

Pidgeot approached the beach rapidly, and it was only a few more seconds until he settled there, allowing Ash and Latias to climb off.

The man walked over to them as Ash pulled out Pidgeot's Luxury Ball. "You were amazing, Pidgeot, return!"

"Well, as I live and breath. I didn't expect to see you here" the man said.

Ash turned around to face him, with his cap down to shield his face. "Well, I felt like competing here. I'm guessing that the same reason applied for a Champion like yourself being here?"

"Sure does" Alder laughed. "It's pretty good to see you, I haven't hardly had a chance to properly thank you since you saved my home town."

"You gave me a Pokemon Egg" Ash reminded him.

"Yeah, that reminds me, how did the little Larvesta who hatched turn out?" Alder asked.

"Healthy and strong" Ash said. "It's a Volcarona now."

"Wow, it usually takes several years for a Lavesta to evolve. You must be some trainer" Alder said. "By the way, I never got a name the last time we met."

"My name?" Ash asked. "Uh, my name, it's, uh, Aaron Satoshi."

Inside the cloak, Ash was sweating. "I almost forgot my alias, I better commit it to memory" he thought.

Alder laughed. "Nice to meet you, Aaron Satoshi. I'm Alder, previous Champion of the Unova Pokemon League."

"Previous?" Ash wondered.

"Alder, where'd you run off to?" a voice came out of the small forest beyond the beach.

"Sorry, I saw a commotion, and came to meet an old pal of mine" Alder called back.

Stepping out of the shrubbery, a young woman in a dazzling white dress emerged. "Everyone else is worried about you just running off. We have an appointment to keep, you know?"

"Yeah, sorry about that Diantha" Alder said sheepishly. "But I couldn't resist. Remember that story I told you, about when Team Plasma attacked my town with a Kyurem?" He pulled ash up beside him. "This guy, right here, like something out of a storybook, came riding down out of the sky on a Zekrom, Reshiram beside him, battled, and defeated both the Kyurem and Team Plasma, and saved my town, without breaking a sweat."

"Zekrom and Reshiram just wanted to help, all I did was lead them there and direct them in battle" Ash muttered. "They weren't mine."

"Still, the way you directed them, you are quite the trainer" Alder said. "I wish that you would take your cloak off, I would love to get a picture to go with your story."

"Sorry, I like my privacy" Ash said.

"Oh, so it is you" Diantha said, walking up to Ash.

"Damn" Ash thought. He had hoped that only one of them would recognize him. However, as fate would have it, both of the Champions that he had helped had to not only see him, but recognize him.

"Looks like you get around" Diantha said. "Not only did you help out Alder in his case, but you saved Lumiose City when I was there too." Raising a finger in a knowing way, she said "I may not have known it was you, but you told the same thing to me, that you like your privacy."

"Huh, you've met him too?" Alder asked.

Diantha nodded. "Yes, one time, Yveltal and Xerneas got into a huge fight. It started off in the wilderness, but soon, they crashed right into Lumiose City. The battle was destroying everything, until this young man stepped in. Using a Pidgeot and that Pokemon there," she said, pointing to Mewtwo, "he stalled them, giving them commands, until he had drawn them back outside. Leaving that Pokemon to distract them, he flew off on his Pidgeot, and get this, came back with the Legendary Pokemon Zygarde!" Looking at Ash puzzled, she asked "You sure have a thing for Legendary Pokemon, don't you? Reshiram, Zekrom, Zygarde…"

Ash shrugged. "I just knew how to call them for help."

Diantha chuckled. "Well, I tried to thank him after the fact, of course, but of course, he didn't want any part of it. I wanted to do something for him, though, so I offered him my Gardevoir's child. As a Champion, I didn't have enough time on my hands to raise it well, so he took it as his reward. How is it, anyways?"

"Same as the Pokemon Alder gave me" Ash said. "Healthy, strong, and already evolved once."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that it's going so well" Diantha said. Her watch beeped, and she looked down at it. "Oh, Alder, we must be getting back. The other Champions are starting to wonder where we are."

"Oh alright, Diantha" Alder said. He turned to Ash. "You know, the Champions and ex-Champions are having a little get together before this thing kicks off, a little luncheon. I would be honored if you would accompany us there."

"Oh, I really don't want to intrude-" Ash began to say.

"Nonsense, you wouldn't be a bother at all" Alder said. "At least let me treat you to a meal. It sure looked like you worked one up. Most people fly around the mountain, going straight over Mount Nova is a sure way to get the attention of the Dragon Pokemon in the Safari Zone."

Ash sighed as he realized that Alder wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Alright, I can come for a little bit, I guess."

"Great!" Alder boomed. "Come on, let's not be late" he said, grabbing Ash and dragging him along.

"Hey, uh, guys?" Ash asked.

Mewtwo and Latias shared a look with each other, then followed Ash towards wherever he was being dragged to.

* * *

 _ **Champion's Lunch**_

* * *

Ash sat in silence at the edge of the table, quietly sipping the stew that had been prepared.

Ash had had to go through a long and rigorous greeting as Alder introduced him to the Champions, even though he already knew most of them. Lance, Steven, Wallace Cynthia, Diantha, and Alder, of course. The only one he didn't know was an older women named Aria, who was revealed to him to be the champion of the Vesryn Region. There was one Champion who seemed to be running late, however, as that was the main topic of conversation among the Champions.

"Any idea when she'll show up?" Steven asked Alder.

"Not a clue" Alder said, shaking his head. "People got on my case about not being punctual, but my replacement is anything but. Still, she makes up for it with raw energy. I have never seen such an excitable Champion for a League."

"Excitement and energy are fine, but as Champions, we have certain schedules we must follow" Diantha said cooly. "It comes with the title. Even you were never this late to a meeting, Alder."

"Touche" Alder conceded. "I might give her a call here in the next couple minutes if she doesn't show."

Mewtwo and Latias had sat down next to Ash, also enjoying the cuisine that was offered to them. Rather than talk out loud, Mewtwo spoke to Ash through telepathy.

"I thought we were here to locate Mew, not sample dishes with the elites" Mewtwo asked.

"We can't just find and take Mew, Mewtwo" Ash responded. "If we did, we'd be labeled as thieves. Surveillance technology is very common when guarding something. They would find out it was us, then we'd never be able to go on missions again without being tracked and jailed."

"Hmm" Mewtwo growled telepathically. "I suppose that is a worthy worry to hold. Still, we need to register if we plan to participate, right? Why didn't we do that first?"

"Because Alder wanted to at least introduce me to all the Champions first" Ash said. "He's not one to leave a debt unpaid, and after I helped save the town he grew up in, he feels like he owes me big. The least I can do is allow him to thank me with a meal and some introductions."

Mewtwo looked around. "Well, it appears that you've met them all. So what if you miss one. Tell Alder that you have to go register so that we can get out of here."

Ash nodded. Sipping the last of his stew, he looked at Alder. "Hey, I really need to go now. I still need to get registered for the tournament and everything, before it all closes down."

"Wait just a minute, I'm trying to find our missing Champion real fast so that she can meet you. I know that you have business, but trust me, she really wants to meet you. She's got a thing for Dragon-Types."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, she sure does. She almost knows as much about them as me, the leading expert on Dragon Pokemon."

"A thing for Dragon-Types?" Ash asked.

Alder nodded. "Yeah, she's been studying for as long as anyone can remember to become a Dragon Master. Of course, those are few and far inbetween, but it's not a bad goal. In fact, she's hardly got any more to go before it's official."

"A Dragon Master?" Ash thought. Suddenly, he had an idea about this new Champion.

Looking at Mewtwo, he sent another telepathic message. "Mewtwo, can you pretend to collapse? I need an excuse to rush out of here."

Mewtwo looked surprised. "Well that's an odd request."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to leave most?" Ash asked.

Mewtwo rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine."

Mewtwo clutched his head and rolled out of his seat, lying on the floor. Ash jumped up. "My Pokemon's sick. Alder, I can't wait any longer, I have to get him to a Pokemon Center right now!"

Alder looked on in shock. "Well, I guess that I can't keep you here longer. Our Pokemon take top priority. Go on, get him there!"

Ash nodded, secretly grinning over the fact that it worked. Picking Mewtwo up in his arms, he and Latias ran out of the room, down the path and towards the main part of the resort.

Once they were out of sight, however, Ash set Mewtwo down and he stood up. "Well, that got us out of there quickly" he said.

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes. Now we can go find out everything that we need to know about this tournament."

Ash looked down the road, to the point where the facilities started. "When in doubt, start at the Pokemon Center. We need to get registered there, so they are bound to have some information on the tournament. I just hope that it doesn't take too long."

Ash walked down the to Pokemon Center with Mewtwo and Latias by his side. Pushing open the door, he noticed that the place wasn't very full. "Hello, Nurse Joy?" Ash called.

"Be right there" a voice came from the back. Nurse Joy emerged from the back room of the center, and she came to stand behind the counter. "Welcome to the Spearpoint Pokemon Center. How may I help you?"

"I'm here to register for the tournament" Ash said.

"Alright then. Give me your Pokedex and I can get you all signed up" Joy said.

Ash nodded and pulled out the little red device. "Thank goodness I thought ahead and had Rotom hack it to change my name and my picture" he thought.

Nurse Joy scanned his Pokedex into the computer and a little card popped out. "Here you go, your pass and your Pokedex back, Mr. Satoshi."

Ash nodded. "By the way, do you have a guidebook or something for the tournament? I'm a bit short on the details."

"Why most certainly" Joy said. She reached under her desk and pulled out a small paper book. "This has all of the information on the tournament. Also, while you are here, would you like to register for housing?"

"I would, but I'm a bit short on money" Ash said.

"Oh, that's no problem. For competitors and those staying with them, housing is free" Joy said.

"Really?" Ash asked.

Joy nodded. "Yes, although as more competitors arrive, you may have to share the house with some others. Most of our places are three bedroom suites. Things may get a little tight, but you should still be able to live comfortably."

"Awesome" Ash said. "Yeah, you can sign me up for one."

"Very well" Joy said, reaching for a key hanging on the wall. "Over in the residential district of the Spearpoint Resort, look for house number 1023, and that's you."

"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy" Ash complemented.

"Anytime" Joy smiled.

Ash walked out and began studying the book. "So, there will be three rounds of preliminaries due to the large volume of competing trainers. There will be 8 rounds after that, each round being spread over two days. The competitors matched up with each other and the arena they fight in is randomized. Prelims are 1 on 1, so is the 1st round. The 2nd and 3rd are 2 on 2, 4, 5, and 6 are 3 on 3, then the final two are full 6 on 6 battles."

"I can demolish the competition for the one on one battles" Mewtwo said. "We need to get through them quickly."

"Mega Evolution is also banned for the preliminaries, and anyone who breaks that rule is automatically disqualified" Ash read on. "I wonder why they would make a rule to ban Mega Evolution. Do that many people have it nowadays?"

"Who knows?" Mewtwo asked.

Closing the book and sticking it in his pocket, Ash looked up at the sky. It was about 1:00 if he had to guess. "There's going to be an opening ceremony tonight, apparently, then the whole thing kicks off tomorrow morning. We will receive messages on our Pokedexes about who and where we are fighting, and when."

"What do you suppose we do until then?" Mewtwo asked.

Ash shrugged. "We can go check out our room. It's been forever since I've had an actual bed and bath."

"Allow me" Mewtwo said, stepping up. In a quick flash of green light, the three of them vanished into thin air.

* * *

 _ **Spearpoint Airport**_

* * *

"Alright, guys, just a few more minutes in this direction, and we should be at the Pokemon Center" Gary said.

The four of them had just dismounted the plane from Fianga City and were now checking out the sights of the resort. There weren't many trainers in view, they supposed that most of them would be coming later that night. They had arrived rather early in the day, after all.

Max drank in the sights. "You know, just being here makes me in the mood for a battle. Hey Gary, want to train with me later on?"

"Why not, I need a warmup for the tournament tomorrow" Gary replied. "You know, all the Gym Leaders from all of the regions will be here. I'm kind of hoping to be matched up with Blue, just so I can show cuz how it's done."

"Oh, I guess that means that we might have to fight some of our friends here, if they decided to come, I didn't think about that" May said. "That might be difficult."

"Speak for yourself" Max said. "I hope that I get matched up against Paul in the tournament!"

"Why would you ask for an automatic loss?" Gary asked. "Ow…" he said when Max punched him in the arm.

"I'll have you know that I'm a lot stronger that you know" Max said, sticking out his tongue.

Gary laughed. "Not saying you aren't, but Paul is seriously one of the most powerful trainers I've ever seen. Even with Ash's veterans, that was the closest match that I know of, and since then, the only major loss he's had was against Brandon, when he requested that he only use his Regi Pokemon, and against Tobias, the person who beat Ash in the Sinnoh League. Both trainers that he's been defeated by used Legendary Pokemon, hardly any others have done the same."

Max's confidence wavered. "So, Ash beat Brandon. If Paul can't beat Brandon, then that says quite a bit about his power."

"Didn't you hear me?" Gary asked. "He would've won if he hadn't requested a 3 on 3 with Brandon only using his golems, and even then, he took down two of them and had Registeel on the ropes when he went down."

Then the last spark of confidence disappeared. "Oh…" he muttered. "I didn't know that he was in that league."

Gary nodded. Then May turned to him. "Who is this Tobias guy? I've heard of him, but I don't know much about him."

Gary crossed his arms. "Tobias is a very powerful trainer. He is one of the few trainers ever seen publicly owning a Legendary Pokemon. Most any battle he's ever been in, he's only had to use his Darkrai to wipe the floor with his opponent. But Ash was able to take down his Darkrai, at the cost of 4 of his 6 Pokemon. Then he sent out a Latios." Closing his eyes in deep thought, he continued. "I wouldn't think it possible to own Legendary Pokemon, but since he has 2 revealed, there's always a chance that he could have more."

"Wow, a Darkrai and a Latios" May breathed. "Those are some formidable opponents. Do you think that he'll be here?"

Gary nodded. "I told you the other day, I heard from Paul himself when I talked to him. He heard that Tobias would be entering. And there's a very good chance of him tearing through the ranks."

May began shivering lightly, in partial to anticipation, fear, and anxiousness. She began picking up speed down the path.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" Dawn asked as she ran.

"I'm signing up as soon as possible so that me and Ash's Pokemon can train up and be ready for anyone that comes our way" May called back, speeding up to a full on sprint. "I have to be sure to win this!"

Dawn ran faster after her, Gary and Max hot on her tail as they raced down the path. "And she called me a Rare Candy devouring Spoink" Max huffed. "Right now, a Jolteon would struggle to keep up with her."

"She's just excited for the tournament to start, Max" Dawn said.

"Wow, who would've thought we'd see the day where May would be dragging us to battling?" Max asked.

"You know, I really hope that she wins this" Dawn said. "Not just for the rewards, but so that she can finally live with herself and go back to her dream of being a Top Coordinator."

"Yeah" Gary nodded. "Blame can really eat someone away inside, and I feel like there won't be much of the May we knew left if this goes on much longer. She's already become more serious and less jovial, we don't need her changing permanently."

* * *

 _ **Residential District**_

* * *

Ash, Mewtwo, and Latias all touched down in the middle of the street, surrounded by houses. It looked like the suburbs, almost every house identical.

Shaking his head clear, Ash looked at Mewtwo. "Maybe a bit of warning when you're about to do that. Your Teleports always discombobulate me."

Mewtwo ignored this. "What was the number for the house that we're staying in. Let's get in so that we don't have to lug around our supplies anymore."

Sighing, Ash looked at his key. "House 1023 it says. Let's see where we are now."

Walking to the nearest building, Ash looked at the number near the front door. Looking back at Mewtwo, Ash sighed again. "You just wanted to make me look, didn't you?"

1

0

2

3

Mewtwo smirked, but gave no comment. "Let's head in."

Inserting the key in the door, Ash twisted and pulled it open. "I can live with this" he said.

Inside, the house wasn't massive, but it was fair-sized and very comfortable. Plush carpeting covered the entry hall which opened into the living room, complete with couch, coffee table, and a giant flatscreen television. At the end of the room, in the left-hand corner, Ash saw it lead into a kitchen. On the right, a staircase dipped into the wall and went to a second floor above, where Ash could only assume the bedrooms and bathrooms were.

Hefting his pack over his shoulder, Ash began walking up the stairs. "Might as well mark our territory now, so that when more trainers pour in, their give us some space."

Mewtwo nodded and he and Latias followed. Stopping at the first door, Ash opened it to reveal the bedroom inside. It was definitely designed for comfort, with a queen-sized bed, a desk with a computer, a bedside table with a phone and lamp, and a beanbag chair in the corner. A smaller T.V. hung on the wall.

"Wow, they really did go all out for this tournament" Ash murmured. Throwing the bags in the corner, Ash flopped on the bed, feeling one for the first time in years.

Mewtwo stepped in behind him. "Cramped" he offered. "But I've been in worse."

Latias observed the room with an amused expression. She immediately flopped down in the beanbag chair in the corner. She began glowing, and she turned back into her true self, curled up in the bag.

Ash yawned loudly. "If we didn't have to go to that thing later tonight, I think that I might just crash until the tournament started tomorrow."

"Sleep would do us all good" Mewtwo replied. "If there is one things you humans are good it, it's designing comfortable surroundings. If we lock the door for our privacy, it would do us well to catch a few hours of sleep. The fight earlier drained me, and I have a feeling that your rest on Pidgeot wasn't very peaceful." His tone implied that he had noticed Ash's aura leakage.

Ash nodded. "You're not getting an argument from me. You might want to do something extra to lock the door in case we have extra nosey neighbors."

Mewtwo opened his hand, crackling with blue energy. Pointing at the door, he shot an Ice Beam at the borders of the door, sealing it with the frost. "Perfect" he said.

Reaching into his pocket, Ash pulled out a Luxury Ball. "Riolu, come on out."

The ball opened and the Empathy Pokemon materialized. "Rio?" Riolu asked, looking around.

"Hey Riolu, I figured that I'd let you out of your Pokeball to rest for real" Ash said. "If you want to be a Lucario, I've got to make sure that you have plenty of room to grow and are content."

"Ri!" Riolu cheered, jumping onto the bed next to Ash.

"Good" Ash yawned. Climbing under the covers, Ash was glad that the blinds had been pulled closed when they had entered the room. "Time for a nap."

* * *

 _ **Pokemon Center**_

* * *

"Here's your tournament passes, and your house keys" Joy said, passing them out to Gary, Max, and May. "If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I think that we're good" May said. "Thank you very much."

"No problem, Miss, have a good day!" Joy said cheerfully. She turned around and headed into the back room of the center.

May turned away from the counter and let out a deep breath. "Finally, I'm all registered, and all that's left is to prepare and win this thing."

"Don't forget, though, just because you're in it for a noble reason, doesn't mean that I'll go easy on you if we're matched up" Gary said.

"Me neither" Max said. "But I need to train if I'm going to beat you. Gary, ready for some battling?"

"You bet, Max" Gary said, running out the door.

Max turned to his sister. "I hope that you're ok with me going all out."

May smiled sadly. "I wouldn't want anything else. Ash never let his relationships stand in the way of his battles."

"I just wish that we could have had a different kind of relationship" she thought.

She blinked, realizing that her emotions were coming to the surface. Turning around, she quickly wiped her eyes clean of tears.

"Hey, you alright, May?" Dawn's voice came behind her.

May pivoted around to meet Dawn. "Yeah, I'm fine" she said a little too quickly. Thankfully, Dawn didn't seem to notice.

"Well, now that we're all done here, should we go check out our rooms?" Dawn asked.

"Sure thing" May replied, looking at the key in her hand. "Building 394 it says, according to the key."

"Alright, let's go get-" Dawn began to say, then a voice sounded across the room.

"Dawn, May?"

"Huh?" May asked. Turning across the room, a smile was brought to her face. "Brock!"

The dark-skinned Pokemon Doctor stood at the edge of the room, in the doorway. "In the flesh" he said.

May felt a small smile be brought to her face. "It's good to see you again. How long has it been?"

"Well, let's see…" Brock crossed his arms and thought. "You came to challenge the Pewter Gym about eight months ago, so about that long I'd say."

"Wow, that's quite a period" May conceded.

"And I'd say that it's been at least twice that long since you've come to see me" Dawn pouted. "What's the matter? Is it too hard to give an old friend a call every now and then?"

Brock raised his hands in self defense. "Sorry, Dawn, the tests to become a Pokemon Doctor are really rigorous. I've barely had time to eat and sleep most days for the past couple of years. When May stopped by the Pewter Gym, I barely was able to say 'hi' to her."

"Well I suppose I can let it slide" Dawn said. "But if the studying is so long and hard, then how'd you find the time to come here?"

"I took the final test a couple weeks ago" Brock explained. "Now I'm just waiting for the results to come through."

"Well, with all the studying that you've been doing, I expect you to have aced it" May said supportively.

"Thanks May" Brock nodded. "So, where are all of you guys staying?"

"We're in house 394" Dawn piped up. "Maybe you could get a house near us so that we can be neighbors. After all, this tournament is going to last at least around three weeks. That's plenty of time to catch up."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me" Brock said. He walked up to the counter and rang the bell. "Hello, may I please receive some lodgings for the tournament?"

"Be right there" Joy's voice came.

"Any second now, Croagunk is going to pop right of its Pokeball" Dawn muttered to May.

"The world-class Poison Jab, has to be, based on how often it's practiced it" May said back.

Joy came out of the back room. "Hello there, you wanted a house? Any particular area?"

Brock nodded. "Yeah, if you have one, close to my friends please."

"Alright then" Joy ducked behind the deck, coming back up with a key. "Here you are, the key to house 389."

"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy" Brock said.

"Any time" Joy replied.

Dawn and May's jaws dropped to the floor. Brock noticed this and raised his eyebrows. "Are you guys ok?"

"Are _you_?" Dawn asked. "You didn't flirt with her, declare your love, make some obscene promise of romance, anything. Did reading about fevers too much give you one?"

Brock chuckled. "No, I'm just done with that stuff. Besides, I have someone now, so that would just be wrong of me to keep going with it."

"You have a girl?" May inquired. "Someone actually fell for you?"

"You know, sometimes picking certain words can hurt, May" Brock said. "Was it really necessary to say 'actually?'"

"Sorry" May apologized. "Who is it?"

Brock pumped his fist on his chest. "Lucy" he declared.

"Lucy who?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, which Lucy? I've met a lot of Lucy's" May said.

Brock fell over anime style. Getting back up, he said "You know, the Lucy we met in Kanto. She's the Pike Queen."

"No way, Pike Queen Lucy?" May gasped. "I thought that she was closed off, and that she wasn't very friendly."

"Well get this" Brock said. "Turns out, she liked me when we met her for Ash's Battle Frontier challenge. So when I met her again, we went on a date, and we've been together ever since."

Dawn clasped her hands together. "Aw, that's soooo romantic."

Brock chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Come on, Dawn, you don't have to make such a big deal out of it."

May chuckled at her friends' antics. "So Brock, is your brother here?"

Brock nodded. "Yeah. All the Gym Leaders are obligated to come, including Forrest. You should know, right? You're dad'll be here, he must have told you."

May's gaze hardened. "I haven't talked to my dad since, you know…"

"Oh…" Brock said.

"At any rate," May said with a fiery tone, "I hope I don't have to see that man the entire time that I'm here. I don't even want to give him the dignity of battling me."

Dawn chuckled. " _Don't even want to give him the dignity,_ eh? Someone has a high opinion of themselves."

May gripped her fist tightly. "Don't go there, Dawn. I hate that man for what he did to Ash in his final moments. He _attacked_ him for saving me. How does that sound like something forgivable?"

Brock studied May. "May, he is your father, after all, and in his defense, he didn't know what Ash had just done, just that you two had been out together and you got severely hurt."

"I don't care about that, he should've known that Ash would've never done something like that on purpose" May said, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "After Ash nearly killed himself too rather than let me die, then he sacrificed everything to save me, all that man did was try to make him miserable in his last moments. No matter what you say, that's _unforgivable_."

The tears now free flowing down her face, she turned tail and ran outside of the Pokemon Center, leaving Dawn and Brock standing dumbfounded. Turning hesitantly to the Pokemon Doctor, Dawn said "I guess that that's a sensitive subject for her. I feel really bad for her."

Brock looked as his feet. "I forgot, it's almost that time again, isn't it? She's always felt it stronger than any of us, and it's always made her really emotional, and no wonder, with how she felt about Ash."

"How did she feel about him?" Dawn asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Oops, forget I said anything" Brock said, covering his mouth. "That's her private business."

Dawn's eyes widened. "Brock, are you saying that May-"

"I'm sorry, Dawn" Brock said firmly, cutting her off. "That's her business, and I have no business telling you."

Brock turned heels and walked out of the Pokemon Center. Before he left, he looked over his shoulder. "If you want to know, I would ask her yourself. But I would give her some space tonight, and maybe for the next few weeks. It's a hard time for anything close to the subject."

Walking out the doors, them closing behind him, Dawn was left standing alone on the tile floor of the center, mind working furiously. "No wonder May has been blaming herself so much" she realized. "If she really felt that way, if she loved him, then she would've felt it more than twice as hard as any of us."

With this realization in hand, it suddenly dawned on Dawn just how much emotional turmoil May must be feeling just beneath the surface, and how strong she must have been the entire time to keep it under wraps.

Nodding, Dawn straightened her cap. "I'd better give her some space, like Brock said. But as soon as she opens up again, I'm going to let her know just how many people she has that can support her."

Last, but not least, Dawn too walked through the glass doors of the Center, back out into the resort. Turning towards the center of the island, Dawn made way for the residential district. "Brock's known this whole time" she also realized. "That she's been so vulnerable around this time of year. Well, if the tournament has to happen right now, then she's going to need all the help she can get to make it through alright. And I'll be there to give it."

* * *

 _ **Five Hours Later**_

* * *

Landing lightly outside, Ash looked back up at the window he had just climbed through. "Well, I want to scout the island for a while anyways. This way, I can at least have some alone time."

Ash turned away and began making his way back down to the main area of the resort, when he heard light footfalls behind him. "Ro, Rio" he heard.

Turning around, Ash saw his companion Riolu on the ground behind him. "Can't fool you, can I?" Ash asked.

"Ri, Ri" Riolu shook his head. Running forward, he placed himself behind Ash. "Riolu, Ro Rio."

Ash stepped backwards, aligning himself alongside Riolu. "Come on, why do you insist on me being on top of you? We're equals, Riolu. You don't have to go to such lengths to act so subservient."

"Lu" Riolu said, stepping in pace with Ash.

Ash chuckled. "I swear, I thought that Lucario was a special case when he would only refer to Sir Aaron as 'Master.' But I'm guessing that it must run in the family. I don't like lording over my partners, all Pokemon are equals to me."

"Roh…" Riolu growled affectionately, nuzzling Ash's leg as they walked.

Ash smiled a little and rounded the corner from the housing, walking down the path towards the main attractions. He already noticed that there were many more trainers there than there had been earlier. The entire place was flocked with people from all around the world. News reporters, trainers, everyone. Boats were arriving on the beach, presumably for the trainers coming straight from Vesryn.

"Wow, look at the size of that arena" Ash breathed. To the left of the path, in front of the beach, the battle facilities began. The closest arena to him and Riolu was the size of a coiled Rayquaza, something Ash was familiar with. "I can't imagine how big the field inside it is."

Ash took in the sights all around him. Everything seemed so foreign to him, partly because he was in a new region, but mostly because he hadn't been around such an urban area for a long time. Stands were set up everywhere, selling food and souvenirs and other merchandise to visiting people. Past the initial arena and shops, Ash saw more battlefields set up. One reminded him very strongly of the Fortree Gym, although much higher, and with floating chunks of terrain spaced throughout the air in between. There was a boardwalk that led out to the ocean, and a marked section of water to make up another battlefield, with chunks of ice floating in the water. There were many others further away, all over the island according to the maps he saw. It had extremely varied terrain, which made it perfect for a battle resort. In the crags of mountains, through the treetops, in a narrow canyon, just about anywhere he could think of.

The town that took place on the island was also spread out as well, dotted throughout the entire place, mostly around the beach. It seemed that it was divided into five sections, each place being more or less the same, allowing space to not be too cramped. Ash nodded in agreement. "This place is just about as perfect as you could want it for a battling paradise" he noted.

Ash was too busy taking in all of the sights to notice where he was walking, and he ended up crashing into a man. "Ooof, sorry about that" Ash apologized as he stumbled.

The man stood back up easily. "No problem, young man. It's understandable."

The man spoke with a rich and familiar accent, kind of serious. Ash recognized it, but he couldn't tell from where until he looked at the man. Dressed in a red cloak, and grayish blue hair parted over one eye, Ash recognized him as one of the most powerful trainers he knew.

"Tobias" Ash said.

The Darkrai trainer smiled upon him. "Have we met?" he asked.

Ash quickly shook his head. "No, but I've seen you battle. You and your Darkrai."

"Then I suppose that puts me at a disadvantage, for I know nothing of you" Tobias said, offering his hand. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Uh, Aaron, Aaron Satoshi" Ash said, reaching out to shake Tobias' hand.

"Nice to meet you, Aaron Satoshi" Tobias said gracefully. Bending down to look at Riolu beside him, he examined the Pokemon. "I must say, this Riolu of yours seems to be in top condition. I can just tell from a look that you must be a powerful trainer."

"Thank you" Ash said. "Riolu's been with me for a while now. It wants to evolve, but we're having trouble doing so."

"I see" Tobias said, standing up. "Riolu take a very special kind of bond to evolve from. They need to have a connection so strong, it makes them almost reliant on the one whom they bond with before they can advance."

"Well, this guy's a special case" Ash said, leaning down to pet Riolu. "He comes from a very powerful family line, but his family also has tended to be very independent. I think that's what's making it harder for him to get that necessary bond."

"Oh, a powerful line of Lucario?" Tobias asked.

Ash mentally facepalmed. He had no idea why he was blabbering on so much to Tobias. Perhaps it was because he respected him as a great battler, perhaps because he had known him from his 'previous life.' Either way, he knew he needed to wrap things up. "Yeah, he's descended from a Lucario that served under an ancient Aura Guardian in Kanto" Ash said briefly.

"Interesting" Tobias conceded. "The only legendary Aura Guardian I've heard of from the Kanto Region was known as Sir Aaron. Perhaps he was the one that had the Lucario of whom this Riolu is descended from."

Facepalming again, Ash found himself wishing he had known Tobias was so well educated. "Yeah, maybe." He was in a hurry to end things now, he was getting frazzled. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Maybe we will have a chance to fight in the tournament."

"I would look greatly forward to that" Tobias nodded. "Good luck."

Ash nodded. "Thanks, you as well."

As Tobias walked away, Ash began to feel the stress of how close he had come to slipping. "Riolu, let's go cool off on the beach, whaddya say?"

"Ri!" Riolu cheered in affirmation.

Ash smiled. "Alright, then let's head down to the beach."

Cutting through the hoards, Ash wormed his way down to the beachfront, Riolu dashing along right by him. Weaving in and out, he realized that he and Riolu were beginning to race each other, avoiding people and trying to make it to the beach before the other.

As the crowd broke, Ash saw the home stretch in front of him. Pulling out all the stops, Ash sprinted at full speed towards to sand. However, in a flash of white light next to him, Riolu dashed forward, easily surpassing Ash's sprint. Landing in the dunes, Riolu did a little victory pump.

Ash panted slightly as he walked up. "Really? Quick Attack? You realize that that's cheating, don't you?"

"Rio" Riolu shrugged.

Ash let out a sigh. "You know, this reminds me of something that happened to me. Just when I was getting back from my Unova journey, back when I was still just a little kid with a dream bigger than myself."

"Ro, Riolu ri?" Riolu asked.

"Yeah, I was pretty foolhardy back then" Ash admitted. "Just some random kid from Pallet Town, set off on a quest to become the 'world's greatest Pokemon Master.' I should've probably realized it as I went along, but I never even won a league. My biggest, official completion to date was my beating of the Battle Frontier, and even that wasn't much in the broad scope of things…"

Ash trailed off as his mind began to wander, back to the old days.

 _A pair of trainers stood on a battlefield, one down to his last Pokemon, the other still having five remaining._

" _Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, nonstop!"_

" _Latios, use Light Screen, then swerve to try and though it off!"_

" _Sho!" Latios cried, glowing with light and deflecting the electricity, before bucking upwards and tossing the Pikachu high into the air._

" _Latios, end it now, with Luster Purge!"_

" _Pikachu, don't give up! VOLT TACKLE, FULL POWER!"_

 _The Pikachu righted itself in midair, then plunged downwards, cloaked in electrical energy. It connected with the oncoming stream of purple energy, and kept racing through it, running through the air._

" _What?" the trainer with the Latios exclaimed._

" _NOW, IRON TAIL!"_

 _The Pikachu twisted once more, tail glowing like metal. Cloaked in the electricity, The Pikachu struck downwards, tail connecting with the full force of the momentum from the fall and the power of the Volt Tackle. A massive explosion sounded in the air, and black smoke covered the field._

Letting out a deep breath, he wondered if his remembering that battle was the by-product of his recent meeting with Tobias.

Letting out a deep breath, Ash felt his mind wander further into the past. He was interrupted, however, when he heard Riolu let out a low growl.

"Riiiiiii…"

Ash looked up. "What is it Riolu?" he asked.

"Rio…" Riolu growled again, pointing across the beach, his ear flaps raised.

Looking across the beach, Ash saw three men gathered around something further down. "What's going on?" he asked. He began walking over, Riolu right near him.

As he drew near, he began to make out more details. The men were dressed in biker gear, giving them a mean look. They seemed to be surrounding a large blue Pokemon that was on the shore. Suddenly, the scene felt all too familiar.

A group of thugs, gathered around an innocent Pokemon. He began to hear lots of jeering and threats being issued by the bikers, and the final nail in the coffin, he realized the Pokemon that they were bullying. A baby Lapras.

Ash imagined his aura lighting up like a fire around him, swelling with anger. He thought back to the Orange Islands, were a group of thugs had tortured a beached Lapras, and he had battled them away.

Approaching the bikers, Ash felt his rage coming to the surface as his hands exuded blue energy. "Hey, what do you punks think you're doing?" he asked vehemently.

The three bikers looked over at him. "Get lost, kid, this is none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong. I can't stand the sight of thugs like you, beating up innocent Pokemon" Ash declared. "Now leave before I make you."

One of the bikers pushed himself away from the group. "Yeah, you would make us? Kid, don't make me laugh, I beat up men twice your size without breaking a sweat. Try all you want, you'll only get yourself hurt."

Ash let out a low, almost evil chuckle. "Oh, you are really trying to push my buttons, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it, shrimp?" the biker laughed, shoving Ash backwards.

Standing up, Ash was no longer laughing. Beneath his cloak, his eyes glowed blue. "I'm normally a pacifist. But you just happened to catch me at a bad time."

"Oh, I'm _sooo_ scared" the biker said sarcastically. "Get lost if you know what's good for you" he said, turning to walk away, back to the Lapras.

"You asked for it" Ash growled, stepping up. Riolu stood beside him, growling as well.

"You just don't know when to give up!" the biker shouted. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a knife. "Last chance, kid."

"I would say the same, but you just used it up" Ash said scathingly. "I hope you're proud, I don't usually get this mad about stuff."

He and Riolu mirrored each other's movements, putting their hands out in front of them, parallel to each other. A blue light stretched between each hand for the both of them, turning into a staff that was knobbed at each end, growing until it was as tall as either of them. Ash and Riolu both formed their own Bone Rushes.

"Whoa, what the-" the biker began to say, but he didn't have a chance to finish.

Ash jumped forward and swung the bone upwards at the first biker, connecting on the bottom of his jaw and knocking him into the air, before landing hard on the ground with a _thump_.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing?" the other two came rushing around to Ash.

Silently, Ash swung his bone sideways, crippling one with a swing to the gut. The remaining biker pulled out a Pokeball. "Go, Weav-!" he began to say, before Riolu dashed forward and knocked the Pokeball out of his hands into the air, before bringing it down on the top of his head, sending him stumbling backwards.

Spinning his Bone Rush, Ash jabbed forward again, striking his biker right in his chest, flooring him right next to his partner. Riolu dissipated his Bone and slammed into the biker with a Quick Attack, knocking all three of them into one Lillipup pile.

Dusting off his hands, Ash's Bone disappeared also. "Guys like that really tick me off" he said.

"Laaaaa…" the young Lapras on the beach moaned.

"Oh" Ash realized. He walked over slowly to the Lapras to not spook it. "Hey little guy" he said soothingly, kneeling down near it.

The Lapras flinched. "La!" it cried out, flailing around.

"No no no, it's ok" Ash said reassuringly, but he couldn't calm the young Water-Type down.

"Pris, La, Lapras La!" Lapras squealed, trying to get away from Ash.

Ash stood up. "If I can't get close enough to it to touch it, then how will I help it?" Then the answer hit him. "Of course."

Pulling out a Pokeball, Ash tossed it towards the sea. Popping open, a beam of light shot out and materialized in the water. "Laaaa!" Ash's Lapras cried out joyfully.

Ash walked over to his Pokemon. "Hey, Lapras. You remember that time that I met you in the Orange Islands?"

"Lap" Lapras nodded.

Looking back at the young Pokemon, Ash continued. "That guy there just went through something very similar. It doesn't trust me. Could you do your best to console it?"

"Lapras!" Lapras said affirmatively.

Lapras got as close as it could to the shore. "Lapras, Lap Lap Lapras Lap" she communicated with the young one.

The baby Lapras looked up hesitantly. "Laaa?"

"Lapras, Pris Pris Lapras" Lapras said.

"Lapras?"

"Lap Lap Lapras."

"Lap?"

Ash's Lapras nodded. "Lapras!"

The baby Lapas looked at Ash. "Laaa?"

Ash smiled. "Thanks Lapras" he said gratefully to his Lapras. Walking over to the young one, Ash knelt down once more, hand outstretched.

The baby Lapras closed its eyes tight as his hand drew near, but opened them hesitantly as it felt Ash's soothing hand rubbing his neck. "La?" she asked.

Ash smiled. "It's ok, don't worry, I'll make sure that it'll all be fine."

Ash began examining the young Lapras' body. He wasn't terribly injured, but he had several bruises up and down his neck and just under the edge of his shell. A few cuts were also present spotted around his body. "I can't believe these jerks were capable of something to heinous. Don't worry, I'll help you get all fixed up."

Pulling out the bag of Sitrus Berries he and Mewtwo had gathered and picked one out. Holding it out, the Lapras took it, then swallowed it. Ash then took out one of his few Potions. "This might sting a little, but it's going to help those cuts and bruises heal faster."

He began spraying down the damaged skin with the Potion. Lapras flinched as it it made contact, but began to sigh in content as it took effect. The bruises looked a bit lighter, and the cuts had their swelling go down a bit.

Ash stood up and pocketed what remained of the Potion in the bottle. "Now that I've treated you as best as I can, we need to get you back out to the water. But, I don't know how I'm going to get you there. I can't lift you, neither can Riolu." Then he had an idea. "Oh yeah!"

Ash turned back to his Lapras. "Hey Lapras, can you use Ice Beam to make an ice path back down to the water?"

"Lapras!" Lapras nodded. Opening her mouth, Lapras sent out bolts of icy blue energy streaking across the sand. Wherever it hit, chunks of ice appeared on the ground, until a smooth pathway went from the little Lapras to the ocean.

Ash got around the side of the little one. "Alright, Lapras, on the count of three, I'm going to push you onto the ice so that you can get back out there. Ready?"

"Lap" Lapras said, nodding.

"Alright" Ash said. "One... two… THREE!"

Ash gave a terrific shove, pushing Lapras forward, onto the ice. Lapras went over the edge and began sliding down the slope towards the water, coming down with a splash.

Ash stood up, breathing a bit heavier for it. "There you go, all safe again."

"Lapras Lap!" the little Lapas splashed around joyfully.

Ash grinned at the sight. "Well, what are you waiting for, little guy? It's time to go free. I bet your family's worried sick about you.

At this, the Lapras bowed his head, sinking low until it almost touched the water. "Laaaaaaa…" he cried.

"What?" Ash asked. "What's wrong?"

Ash's Lapras swam over to the baby. "Lapras La?"

"Laaaaap, Lapras Lap" the little one cried.

Ash's Lapras opened her eyes wide. "Lapras…" she said, nuzzling the little one with her head.

"Man, I wish I knew what was going on" Ash said. "Something has the little guy upset. I just wonder what."

"Perhaps you need a translator" a voice behind him said.

"Good idea" Ash said, turning to face Mewtwo. "You can speak with both Pokemon and people."

Mewtwo nodded. Hovering out over the water, he halted in front of the two Lapras. Turning to the one he knew more, Ash's Lapras, he asked what had happened.

"Lapras, Lap Lapras La, Pris, Pris Lapras Lap" Lapras explained.

Mewtwo's eyes grew wide. "Indeed, that is a terrible story." Turning to the young one, he bowed low. "You have my condolences."

"What was it?" Ash asked.

Mewtwo hovered back over. "The Lapras doesn't have a family to go back to. Usually, they don't come anywhere close to here, but while they were travelling, a swarm of Sharpedo attacked his entire herd. His parents shoved her away, into a strong current to carry him away. The last thing he saw of his parents was them being pulled under by the Sharpedo."

Ash covered his mouth in horror. "I, I can't believe it. That's awful!"

Mewtwo nodded. "The Sharpedo began to come after him too, but he swam as fast as he could, riding the current, until he had escaped, but he landed himself on this island without even noticing until it was too late."

"So he doesn't have anywhere she can go…" Ash said.

"Yes, that is correct" Mewtwo said. "He's all alone in this world now."

Ash walked down to the edge of the water. "Little guy, I'm so sorry. I didn't know about what had happened."

Tears free flowed down the Lapras' cheeks. "Laaaaaa…"

Ash grimaced. "I don't know what you can do. But, if you'd let me, maybe I could help you find a new home."

"Laaa..?" Lapras cried out again, looking up at Ash.

Ash smiled sadly. "After I get done here, I can probably find somewhere for you to stay. The Lapras right next to you comes from a big herd anyways, and they are very kind."

Ash's Lapras nuzzled the baby Lapras again. "Lapraaas…" she said.

The baby looked hesitantly at the older one. "Lap?"

Lapras smiled sadly. "Lapras Lap" she nodded.

Ash took out one of his spare Luxury Balls. "I make sure that all of my friends are comfortable, even when they are in their balls. This way, I can take you with me and care for you, until we find you a home. That is, if you want to come with."

The young Lapras looked at Ash with sparkling eyes. "Lapras!" he squealed.

"Alright then" Ash said. Tossing the Luxury Ball at the young Lapras, the ball opened up and sucked him inside in a flash of light. Dropping on Lapras' back, the ball began to shake. Swimming right up against the shore, Lapras leaned so that the ball fell onto the sand, just as it clicked and sparked.

Ash picked up the ball. "I promise, I will help you find a new home. You have my word." He turned back to his own Lapras. "Hey, you ready to go?"

Lapras nodded. "Lapras."

"Ok, Lapras, return" Ash said, recalling his Pokemon.

"I looked at the information for myself" Mewtwo said behind him, now that Ash was done. "This opening ceremony starts in less that half an hour. We might as well attend, we could learn some more about things here."

Ash nodded. "All the information we get is one more small advantage we have in saving Mew."

"Yes indeed" Mewtwo agreed. Looking around at his surroundings, Mewtwo said "I believe that the opening ceremony is supposed to take place on this very beach, if only down a ways. With it starting soon, I suggest we stay."

"Good plan" Ash said. "But let's stay out of the way. I met someone from my past life earlier, and it was uncomfortable to say the least."

Mewtwo chuckled. "That bad, eh? Fine, I don't like all of this social activity anyways."

Ash nodded. "By the way, the trainer I met is extremely powerful. Would you be ready to go in as my Pokemon is it came down to a battle against a Trainer like him?"

"Just what kind of Trainer could have you so worried?" Mewtwo asked.

"A Trainer who uses Legendary Pokemon" Ash said. "Pokemon like Darkrai and Latios, Arceus knows what else."

"Really?" Mewtwo mused. "As far as I know, I wouldn't do as well against a Darkrai. As another Legendary Pokemon, it's one of the few who can fight on par with me. I may have to practice my Fighting-Type moves."

"Remember, Mewtwo, we have an advantage with X" Ash said. "I think that we will really have to think almost scientifically about this fight, because there is some stiff competition here. If Riolu evolved before I had to fight him, then I may use him instead. Either way, I'm feeling it pretty strongly that I will have to end up fighting him sooner or later. He may be the most powerful Trainer here, I just wish I had a good estimate about how I stack up against him."

"Worry not" Mewtwo responded. "If it comes down to it, you have my word, I'll step in as your battler."

Ash chuckled lightly. "You know, it's starting to sound like you care more about Mew more than you let on."

"Hrr?" Mewtwo grunted.

Ash laughed a bit more openly. "We only have a few more minutes until the trainers start flooding over here, let's find a good place out of the way."

Mewtwo shot Ash a small death glare, then proceeded to walk off, out into a corner of the beach.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "So that's how I can get him to stop talking in the future, eh? Good news."

* * *

 _ **House 394**_

* * *

"Alright, May, you've had enough time to cool off. Now, I'm coming for you."

A key rattled in the lock, and the door swing open. "Hello, May?" Dawn called.

"Piplup Pip?" Piplup called out as well.

Closing the door behind her, Dawn and Piplup walked inside. "Come on, May, come talk to me."

"Pip?" Piplup asked Dawn.

"No need to worry, Piplup" Dawn said. "About me at least. I'm worried about May, personally."

Throwing her bag off behind the couch, Dawn wandered up the stairs. "Nope, laundry room" she said, opening one door. "Bathroom" she said at another. Walking to the back of the hall, she came up to the last door and pushed it open. "May?" she called.

When she didn't get a response, she went to close the door. However, as she turned, she saw a peak of brown just behind the bed. Stepping back in, quietly, she walked through the room and came around the side of the bed. Sitting on the floor, back against the bed, May sat hunched over, head in her arms. A piece of ribbon stuck out of one of her closed hands.

Dawn kneeled down next to her friend. "Hey, May" she said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"If you're here to try to convince me to make up with my father again, you're wasting your time" May's muffled voice came out. She sounded like she had a sore throat.

"No, May, it's not about that. I came to talk with you and cheer you up" Dawn said emphatically.

"You can't cheer me up, Dawn, you have no idea how I feel" she said miserably.

"Yeah, well, you're wrong" Dawn said slowly. "Brock, kind of, let enough slip on accident that I could deduce something."

May's ragged breaths continued, but she didn't respond, so Dawn continued. "May, did you, love, Ash?"

Abruptly stopping, May's eyes emerged over the top of her arms. "What?"

Dawn put her hand on the hand with the ribbon in it. "May, we all knew Ash like family, yet you're the only one who's taken it this hard, and reacts this badly to any remembrance of that day. You took it upon yourself to take care of Ash's Pokemon and fulfill Ash's dream. And here you are, clutching your half of the Terracotta Ribbon for comfort. May…"

"Yes..." May mumbled.

"What?" Dawn asked, having barely heard her.

"I said, yes…" May mumbled a bit louder. Her head disappeared back into her arms, and a hacking sob came out.

Dawn's mouth formed a perfect O. She'd had her suspicions for a few minutes now, but actually hearing it was still a shock.

"May, I really-" Dawn began to say, but then May began to speak.

"I had those feelings since Hoenn" May choked out. "Then, by the time I finally got up the courage, to even try to confess, I went and fell off of a cliff, which made Ash feel like he had to go, and _kill_ himself, just to give me back a life. So yes, I'm doing this because, I… I…" her voice completely broke, and she completely collapsed.

As if the sadness that May was feeling was leaking out into the air, Dawn began to feel the pervading despair as well. Seeing her friend so completely broken and miserable nearly brought her to her knees also.

"Come on, May, it's not your-" Dawn began to say, but she was cut off again.

" _Everyone keeps telling me that it's not my fault, but I don't care!_ " May yelled. " _But if I hadn't been so careless, I wouldn't have fallen. If I had talked to Ash earlier, we wouldn't have even gone up there. So tell me, who's fault is it then?!_ "

"Shut it May!" Dawn shouted. "Do you really think that Ash would give his life up just to have you life the rest of your life in guilt?! No, he wouldn't! So quit blaming yourself for what Ash chose to do!"

"D-Dawn?" May stuttered, shocked by her friend's outburst.

Dawn stood up. She took a deep breath and grounded herself. "You know, May, I don't think that Ash would have given up his life for the rest of us. He knew that none of us would want him to do that, but I don't think that he wanted to have a life without you."

"What, what are you saying, Dawn?" May asked.

Dawn's serious look softened slightly. "I think you know exactly what I mean, May."

May's breath caught in her chest. Bringing the Terracotta Ribbon to her chest, she closed her eyes tightly. "Ash…"

Dawn stooped down and held her hand out. "Come on, May, let's get you cleaned up."

May opened her eyes, now slightly moister for it, and reached up. Taking Dawn's hand, she pulled herself up. "Thank you, Dawn."

Dawn nodded. "I don't usually play it, but someone has to be the voice of reason in our little group, you know?"

With a faint grin, May nodded. Just then, the entire house began to vibrate and shake, sending tremors up the two. "Who-o-o-o-a-a-a-a, wha-a-a-a-a-a-t-t-t-s g-g-o-o-o-i-i-i-i-ng o-o-o-o-o-n?" May asked.

Stumbling over to the window, Dawn threw the blinds up. Even though the sky was still dimly lit in the late afternoon sun, there was no light coming in, as if a shadow was covering up the sky. Sticking her head out the window, Dawn looked straight up. "Ah!" Dawn gasped.

May caught herself as she was knocked down by a particularly strong quake. "Ah! Wh-a-a-a-t-t is it?"

Dawn merely grabbed May and pulled her over to the window, pointing into the sky. May gasped as well. "Oh…"

* * *

 _ **Beach**_

* * *

"Wow, there's really going to be some fierce competition, isn't there?" Ash asked.

Clouds of sand were kicked sky high by a terrific gust coming down out of the sky. Mewtwo stuck his hand out and formed a Reflect to prevent grains of sand from streaking into their eyes. Above them, a massive, flying object descended onto a particularly large and flat expanse of beach turf.

"So, I take it you know just what that is?" Mewtwo asked.

Ash nodded. "Home to one of the toughest battles I've had but actually won, yeah, I remember it."

The large structure was a massive pyramid, elongated along the corners, where the engines stood, keeping the thing afloat. The Battle Pyramid touched down with a final thud on the sand. It had attracted quite a crowd of trainers, even more so than those who had already gathered.

The front of the Pyramid opened wide, and spotlights came on all around the beach. Three hulking figures appeared in the doorway, enshrouded behind the light. Then, three lights began to glow on them, and a red orb appeared in midair. A stream of silver, orange, and blue blasted outwards and collided in the orb, exploding like fireworks.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Flash Cannon, Hyper Beam, and Ice Beam? That could only mean…"

Stepping into the light, the trio of Regirock, Regice, and Registeel revealed themselves in a the glorious glitter raining down. Stepping down behind them, a stern-looking man, dressed in a green coat walked in front of them.

Ash couldn't help but feel his mind wander back to old times. "Still going strong, eh Brandon?" he chuckled. "I could have sworn that his golems were staying in the Snowpoint Temple as pillars. Maybe he found a way to free them without breaking down the pillars."

Brandon and his Regi Pokemon went to stand off to the side, and two more figures appeared in the gateway. A blast of fire and a stream of bubbles came flying out, swirling together and crackling with energy.

"Combination of Fire and Water?" Ash asked. "Well that must be…"

Before he could finish, a handsome man in white clothes with purple hair stepped out. Ash suspected that if it was not such a serious competition, he would have been immediately mobbed. "Tucker, nice to see you here too" Ash thought.

A tremor raced through the ground, causing a pillar of stone to erupt out. A bulky figure raced out, and with a single blow, shattered the rock into countless shards of stone. A Hariyama stood among the rubble. A single fair sized plate of the stone spun up into the air, above Hariyama. As it came down, another figure lept over Hariyama, and with a flying kick, shattered that plate as well. Landing gracefully, Greta made quite the entrance.

Following quickly, a large figure emerged from over the back of the Pyramid. Soaring over, just out of clear view, faint blue glitter rained down, causing a chill to permeate the air. Diving into the spotlight, a majestic Articuno came into view. Dropping off of its back, a man in a white coat dropped off. Looking like he was fresh from the Battle Factory, Noland dropped off and stroked Articuno's feathers.

A figure cloaked in a blue light suddenly flew forward, out of the Pyramid. Flying through the sky, she settled down gently on top of the wide top of a Metagross. The glow of Psychic fainted, and Anabel came into view.

Two twisting, serpentine Pokemon spiraled out, one dark, one light.. Spiraling together in a double helix fashion, they separated, revealing another person inside. Tall, thin, and almost goth, Lucy was revealed, standing as serious as ever. Right after her, shaking the ground, a massive Venusaur stomped into view, Spenser riding atop his back.

Ash let out a low whistle. "Wow, the entire Kanto Battle Frontier showed up? These guys aren't messing around."

Hearing his whistle, Brandon turned his head over to where Ash was standing. Ash tried to shrink back into the shadows, but it was hard to be unoticable when you were shielded by a glowing barrier of energy.

"Hey, why's Reflect still up?" Ash hissed.

"Hmm?" Mewtwo grunted. "Oh, sorry." He waved his hand, and it vanished. "Sorry, it was so effortless, I didn't even realize I was keeping it up."

"Backdoor brag much?" Ash asked. Ash pulled his hat low over his face and did his best to ignore the almost physical feeling of Brandon's gaze in the top of his head.

He heard another figure emerging from the Pyramid. "Well, I've been accused of being a crazy driver in my days, but I have to say, that flight over was a bit too turbulent for me."

Raising his cap enough to see, Ash saw the main man himself, Scott, walking out off of the ramp. Out on the sidewalk, Ash saw the Regional Champions walking down where the Frontier Brains and Scott stood.

"This must be the opening ceremony" Ash realized. "Well, it was a bit flashy for my taste, but oh well."

A few workers hurried over with a podium and megaphone, setting them down right in front of the Battle Pyramid. Scott walked forward and tapped the mic. "Testing, testing?" his voice boomed out. "Alright."

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, Trainers of all ages. By now, I assume that you all know why you're here, and if you don't, hoo, you're pretty lost, aren't you? But enough with that. We all came here today to give you the rundown of how this whole thing will work."

"Now, first off, this tournament will consist of 8 rounds of elimination, besides the given preliminaries, of course. Many of you know the basics, like team count per round and all that, but here's a rule that we didn't really reveal to the general public."

The front of the Battle Pyramid opened up into a giant screen. Appearing on the screen, some sort of roulette was shown. "Each round you participate in, this wheel will spin, giving you a random battle type. Some battles you fight may be singles, some may be doubles, some triples, some 4 on 4 battle royals, and sometimes, your opponent will become your ally in a tag battle against another duo. This will add an additional element of difficulty and surprise to this thing, and force trainers to adapt accordingly."

Scott backed away from the mic, and a familiar blonde woman approached. "Please welcome, Cynthia!" Scott called as he backed away.

Cynthia walked up to the podium, calm and collected. "Welcome Trainers. Many of you know me as the Sinnoh Champion, but as of today, I'm just another contestant in this tournament."

"Now, today, I am here to give you an exhibition match, to allow you all a taste of the battles that you will all get a chance to view in this competition. I hope that you all enjoy!"

"As much as I'd like to watch" Ash muttered to Mewtwo, "I think that it doesn't really matter. Can you Teleport us back into our room?"

"Dear Arceus, I thought you'd never ask" Mewtwo said with a sarcastic tone, but telling the truth. Swiping his hand back across the three of them, they all disappeared in a flash of green light.

* * *

 _ **House 1023**_

* * *

One second, his feet were in the sandy turf. The next, he was settling down on the carpeted floor of his room with a thump.

Riolu hopped down and sat down against the bed, while Ash collapsed on top of it himself. "So, I guess tomorrow, things get started, huh?"

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes, and it looks like we'll be here for a while. If each round consists of two days, and there are 8 rounds, not counting the preliminaries, we are looking at almost 3 weeks on this rock."

"I hear you" Ash nodded. He pulled his cloak off and tossed his hat across the room, onto the chair by his desk. "So we'll get a message on my Pokedex later about who and where to go for our battle. I just want this to get over with so that we can head back to Mt. Quena."

"I am in great agreement with that as well" Mewtwo said. "It's been just under 24 hours, yet I already feel like I want to go home."

"Wow, I didn't know you got homesick" Ash said.

"It happens to everyone" Mewtwo said offhandedly.

Ash sighed. "That's true enough…" he muttered.

A thump sounded downstairs. Looking at the door, Ash shrugged. "I guess that we have roommates now. As long as they leave me alone, I don't care. We have a freeze-locked door anyways."

"Hmm…" Mewtwo nodded.

Laying doing on the pillow, Ash rolled on his back. "Well, I ought to get some sleep. I may have to get up early for my battle, at any rate."

"Yes. Let us sleep" Mewtwo agreed.

Reaching over, Ash flipped off his lamp and plunged the room into darkness.

* * *

 _ **Downstairs**_

* * *

A young man came walking down the stairs. "Well, someone's definitely in there, the light just went off."

Another person, a young woman, stood up from the couch. "Then if they are here, they certainly like their privacy. Hardly a sound all night from up there, no response when we knocked to say hi, nothing."

"Yeah, well, some people have their own preferences" the man shrugged.

"Yeah, that's true enough. I just wonder who it is. Do you think it could be someone famous who's just trying to catch a break?" the woman asked.

"Nah, and you'll probably run yourself into the ground if you stay up, trying to figure things out" the man said. "Come on, let's go get some shut eye so that you can show up the competition tomorrow."

"Good plan" she said. Tiptoeing up to the man, she reached up and pecked him on the cheek. "Sleep well, Tracy."

Tracy smiled and returned the favor. "You as well, Misty."

* * *

 **Okay, now** _ **that**_ **was the longest chapter that I've ever written. I sure hope it** **was worth the wait. Next chapter, we'll get started with some preliminaries, and a little bit more plot as we delve deeper into the story. But this was that one chapter, you know, the one that's the turning point for the main story to start, and I wanted to do it right. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it! Please, drop a review in the review box on the way out, and stay tuned for the next chapter! Cya!**


	5. The Tournament Begins

_**Next Morning**_

* * *

"Ri?"

A low, deep creaking noise sounded as Riolu pushed the frozen door open, slipping out once there was a large enough gap in the doorway. "Rio…" it let out a breath, wandering into the hall, shutting the door tight behind him. It's footfalls were silent on the carpeted floor, and the house was silent in the barely after dawn house.

Dashing down the stairs, Riolu felt out for any presence, but felt none. Riolu ran into the kitchen, jumping up onto the counter. Standing on his tiptoes, Riolu opened up the cabinet and pulled out a small bowl. Jumping down with it in his hands, he grabbed the nearby bag of Pokemon food and tipped it over slightly, allowing for it to pour into his bowl. He stopped once it was full.

Picking the bowl back up, Riolu ran out into the living room and sat with his back against the couch, the bowl in his lap. "Riolu" Riolu said cheerfully, as it began to eat.

As he munched on his breakfast, Riolu thought about his duties in the tournament. He knew that he was powerful for himself, but he didn't know what kind of competition he would be facing.

His mind flashed back to yesterday when he and his master had fought off the gang of thugs. His master said he would find a new home for the baby that they found, but he knew that it was never that simple. Things weren't smooth from the moment he agreed with Guardian Mew to help Ash with his duties. His family was sad to see him go, but also proud of him. He was proud of himself too. After all, he had fought against much larger and scarier Pokemon than himself, and he had always come out on top.

Riolu heard a door shut above, and his head jerked up. A young man in a blue shirt, with dark hair, was standing at the top of the stairs. "Hey, what are you doing in here?" he asked.

"Rio?" Riolu asked.

The man rushed down the stairs. "Come on, we need that food for our Pokemon. You can't just break in and steal it."

"Ri…" Riolu sighed, popping another mouthful of chow into his mouth.

"Come on, little guy, I don't want to force you to leave" he said with a tone of pleading.

"Riolu?" Riolu growled at the threat of force.

"Alright, I'm sorry for this" Tracy said. "Azumarill, come on out!"

The large blue bunny Pokemon materialized on the ground. "Azu!" Azumarill said.

"Azumarill, we're having some trouble with an unwanted guest. Can you try to get it to leave?" the man asked.

"Azu!" Azumarill nodded. Azumarill walked over. "Azu, Azumarill Azuma, Azu Azuma."

"Riolu Ri" Riolu waved off Azumarill.

"Azu!" Azumarill responded angrily. "Azu Azu!"

Riolu sprang to his feet. "Riiiiii…" Riolu growled.

"Oh" Tracy said. "It want's to fight?"

"AaaazUUUUUU" Azumarill shouted, opening her mouth and spraying a powerful Bubblebeam forward.

Without missing a beat, Riolu kicked his bowl across the floor, without tipping it, then used Bullet Punch to counter every single bubble. "Riio" Riolu yawned.

"Azu!" Azumarill shouted angrily.

"Ok, then if you want to fight, then you'll get one" the man said. "Azumarill, Aqua Jet!"

Azumarill nodded. Cloaking itself in a field of water, Azumarill took off, launching at Riolu at high velocity.

Riolu took a stance, a glint in his eyes. As Azumarill drew near, Riolu side stepped using Detect, causing Azumarill to dash past him. Turning around, Riolu thrust his hand forward, colliding his Force Palm Azumarill and causing a burst of energy, knocking Azumarill back.

"Azumarill" he gasped. He looked at the Riolu. "You aren't just a wild Pokemon are you. You fight like a trained Pokemon."

"Rio" Riolu shrugged.

"You must be the Pokemon of that trainer upstairs, aren't you" he realized. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think that much about it. You didn't have any sort of marking, and you were here alone, so I thought-"

"Riolu" Riolu said. "Rio Riolu."

"Sorry. Yeah, thanks for forgiving me" he said. "My name's Tracy."

"Riolu" Riolu said, walking over to pick up his food bowl then sitting down again, leaning back and popping some food in.

"Pretty casual guy, aren't you?" he chuckled. "Of course, when you're that strong of a Riolu, who needs to worry?"

"Ri" Riolu shrugged.

Tracy sat down across from Riolu. "So, you seem to be really good. I bet your trainer is really good also."

"Riolu" Riolu nodded.

"Of course, my girlfriend will probably give you guys a good challenge. She a Gym Leader after all" Tracy said.

Riolu ate the last few bits of food, then tossed the bowl into the air. As it came down, Riolu thrust forward with a Force Palm, striking the bowl and sending it flying. It clipped the doorway into the kitchen, spinning, and landing directly in the sink. "Lu" Riolu said simply.

Tracy was wide-eyed. "Wow, power and precision. You're one special Pokemon, aren't you?"

"Rio" Riolu said indifferently, hopping over Tracy and landing on the stairs, climbing up them.

"Hey, one second" Tracy said. "If you'll let me, I'd love to get a sketch of such a well-raised Pokemon. Will you let me?"

Riolu stopped for a second, then shrugged his shoulders. "Riolu."

Riolu sprang up, backflipping over Tracy and landing in front of him. Tracy chuckled. "I little bit of a show off too. I can tell that you have a fire in you as well. I wonder what you could do in a real battle."

Riolu smirked and leaned against the wall. Tracy stood up and ran back up the stairs. "I'll be right back, let me grab my supplies."

Tracy jumped up the stairs and went down the hall. In his room, he grabbed a sheet of paper and his pencils. Running back down the hall, he slowed down about halfway through, coming to a stop near the frosted door. "I'm a bit curious, actually" Tracy thought.

Setting down his supplies on the floor, Tracy lightly stepped over to the door, and nudged it open. Every creak made him flinch, until it was open wide enough for him to stick his head through.

The trainer was still asleep, turned over so that all Tracy could see was dark hair and a black suit. Another person, a young girl, was asleep on a beanbag chair in the corner of the room. A large purple Pokemon sat against the wall, eyes closed.

"Wow, he even looks mysterious" Tracy thought.

"That's because he likes his privacy and doesn't want any trespassers to break it" a voice sounded in his head.

Tracy's head jerked in surprise, smacking his head on the doorframe. Rubbing his head, he looked around for whoever said that, before he froze, noticing that the purple Pokemon had one eye open, looking at him.

"Go on" the Pokemon said. "After all, curiosity, killed the Skitty."

"Oop, sorry" Tracy muttered, closing the door swiftly behind him and rushing back downstairs. "That was intense" he shook. He picked his supplies back up. "Well, I shouldn't keep his Riolu waiting. That just wouldn't be right. Although, heh, to be honest, that guy scares me a bit."

As Tracy ran back downstairs, in the room, the young girl let out a sigh. Opening one eye, she began glowing, and elongated back into Latias. Mewtwo looked over. "It's a good thing that we caught him coming. We didn't need the attention your true self would have brought."

"Shaa…" Latias cooed, curling back up on the chair.'

Mewtwo looked around. "Now, where did that pesky Riolu go?"

* * *

 _ **House 394**_

* * *

"Come on May, wake up" Dawn said, shaking her friend awake.

"Uhhhh, 10 more minutes" May groaned.

"You don't have 10 minutes, not if you want to have breakfast" Dawn said. "Your match time for the preliminary round today came in. it's in half an hour."

" _What?_ " May shouted, sitting straight upright and knocking Dawn away.

"Ugh, the trick is getting your attention" Dawn grunted, picking herself up off of the ground. "Come on, May, you still need to get ready, get some food, and make it to the arena."

"Which arena is it in?" May groaned, pushing herself to her feet.

"Oh, um, I, let me check" Dawn stuttered. She ran out of the room, the door slamming behind her.

Yawning, May went into the bathroom with her suitcase to get dressed. "It's the first day of the tournament" she told herself. "I need to keep my cool, because if I don't keep it now, then how am I going to stay calm when the rounds start getting _really_ intense."

As she fixated her red bandana in her hair, she went through the mental list of the Pokemon she had on her. "I'm going to need to think smart about this. For a preliminary round, I would want to go with Blaziken, since I know her the most. But Sceptile has the most battle experience, and is just as strong. Of course, I could also use Infernape, because he's more similar to Blaziken, so he would be a middle of the road choice."

A knock was heard on the door. "Hey, May, I found out where it is. You're match is at Arena 4, the one we saw just outside of the airport. And yours is one of the first, match number 3 of the day."

"That's great, thanks for telling me, Dawn" May responded, snapping her suitcase shut. "I'm coming out."

May came out of the bathroom and tossed her bag back into her room. Checking the Pokeballs on her belt, she nodded, then looked at Dawn. "So you said I have about half an hour, right? Well, this island is pretty big, I should probably head out right now."

"No need to worry, May" Dawn said. "Gary had a whole bunch of his old battling partners sent over for the tournament. I'm sure he would let you hitch a ride on his Arcanine."

"No, I think that I'll walk" May said. "Give me some alone time and prepare for the tournament. Can I grab a piece of toast or something on the way out?"

"Sure May" Dawn said. Then she chuckled. "Wow, I think that's the least you've ever eaten, May."

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything" May shrugged. "Truth be told, I'm more than a little nervous about this whole thing."

"Don't be, May, you're awesome" Dawn assured her. "You literally can't lose. You have the style of a coordinator, the power of the Pokemon of an amazing Trainer, and the drive, stronger than anyone else here. You can do it!"

May smiled. "Thanks for the pep talk, Dawn."

"Anytime, May" Dawn said, walking down the hall. "I'll get your toast done in just a minute. Sorry, but Gary's match goes on at the same time as yours, so I won't be able to watch."

"Hey, no problem, Dawn" May said. "I'm going to head downstairs and wake myself up with some fresh air, meet you out there to say goodbye."

"Ok, May, give me just a moment" Dawn said, rushing down into the kitchen.

May stepped down the stairs carefully and opened the door, stepping out onto the porch. It was a beautiful morning out. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, only half visible over the top of the ocean. The day was still early enough that the sky was grayish blue, streaked with wispy clouds. The air had a nip to it, and her breath was faintly visible in the air, her being surrounded by ocean.

May looked into the sky. "I hope that you're watching Ashm this is all for you."

"What was that, May?" Dawn said, coming out the door behind her.

"Oh, sorry Dawn, I didn't think you would be here so fast" May said.

"It doesn't take very long to put a piece of bread in a toaster and put some butter on it" Dawn shrugged. "Were you saying something?"

"Oh, it was nothing, I was just talking to myself" May said. "Psych up, you know?"

"Oh, yeah, I get that. I used to do that before every contest" Dawn said. She held out her hands. A piece of toast on a napkin was on it. "Here you are, May, enjoy your walk."

"Right, thanks Dawn, I'll see you back here later" May nodded, stepping down off the porch and walking down the path.

"Let's see here" May said, looking at the map on her pamphlet as she walked. The Spearpoint Island was very well center of the island was taken up by the housing for the people staying there, a large lake in the center, making it appear almost like a really nice gated community. There was a great forest taking up a lot of the west/northwest part of the island, with some small mountains within. She could only suppose that they left that part of the island un-urbanized so that Trainers had a way to train in a natural place.

The path she was on was high above the forest as she headed west around it, Arena 4 being on the western edge of the island. "Nothing like a cool morning walk to get the blood flowing" she said.

Setting off briskly, May walked at a fair speed along the edge of the path. "Brrr, it's really cold out here. I should've packed a jacket, but I didn't expect these temperatures in the middle of April."

Other Trainers were out in the morning air as well. Some warming up, others heading the same way, making May guess that some of her rivals were among her as she walked. "I just hope that I can do this" she thought.

Looking back on her choices for Pokemon, she wasn't so sure anymore. "Yeah, they're all really strong, but their typing is a little too predictable, isn't it?" She shook her head. "No, that's just the pre-battle jitters talking. Right?"

As she walked, she began looking around for any familiar faces in the crowd. She didn't expect many of her good friends or rivals to be here, as most of them were coordinators, but maybe she could at least meet someone that she had met on the road with Ash.

"Ash…" she thought. "Three years ago, you gave up everything, all for a little coordinator who had barely scraped together a decent rank in a couple of Grand Festivals. But not anymore. That girl has matured, and while I still feel like you made the wrong choice, I'm not going to let it be in vain."

"But, he still made that choice" she whispered. "How could he have been so heroic, yet so selfish with his choice?" She was thankful for the cold air making it hard for her tears to form. "He knew that I wouldn't want to live in an unpayable debt, or even worse, without him. Why'd he do it?"

Her conversation with Dawn from the previous night came back to her.

" _You know, May, I don't think that Ash would have given up his life for the rest of us. He knew that none of us would want him to do that, but I don't think that he wanted to have a life without you."_

" _What, what are you saying, Dawn?"_

" _I think you know exactly what I mean, May."_

"Ash…" she breathed again. Her heart felt like it was full to the brim, with emotions that were about to spill over. The thought that the near-Pokemon Master, the great, heroic figure that had mentored her through her journey, had returned feelings for her…

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" a voice broke through the air, shattering her thoughts.

May barely had time to turn around and see a blonde figure rushing at her with full speed before she felt the collision and her vision went blurry. As she cleared up her sight, she saw a young man with wavy blonde hair, in a white and orange striped shirt, lying on the ground in front of her.

"Hey, what part of get out of the way means turn around?" the young man groaned, standing up. "I'm going to have to fine you for this."

"Oh come on, even if I could move faster than an Arcanine's Extremespeed, it wouldn't have been enough to get out of the way" May said, getting up herself. "Forget fines, I may just sue you if you broke anything."

"Whah?" he gasped. "Hey, how dare you turn my catch phrase back on me. Who does that? Do I have to fine you for that too?"

"Listen, mister, I have a match at Arena 4, and I can't afford any setbacks, alright?" May scolded. "Leave me be so that I can get there in peace."

"Oh come on! Doesn't it work on anybody?" the man complained. "Ash was always the same way, not caring about my fines."

At the sound of Ash's name, May's head perked up. "You knew Ash?" she asked.

"Huh?" the man asked, looking down at May. "Yeah, of course, we were rivals at one point."

"Really?" May asked. She held out her hand. "Well, nice to meet you. My name is May Maple, I used to travel with Ash." In her head, she thought "But wanted to be a different kind of companion."

"Oh wow, you're May Maple?" the man asked, accepting her hand. "I'm Barry, from Twinleaf Town. Ash talked about you when we met in the Sinnoh Region, and I've seen some of your performances. You're great on the stage."

"Oh, well thank you" May said, not sure how to react to his energy.

Barry let go of her hand. "But, if you're a big-time coordinator, then what are you doing at a Trainer's competition like this?"

"I'm competing" May said with an obvious tone.

"Oh, so you're like Nando?" Barry asked. "He was both a Trainer and a Coordinator."

"No, my case is a bit different" May said, the wind taken out of her sails a bit. "It's, well, it would take a lot of explaining."

"Well hey, my match this morning is at Arena 4 also" Barry revealed. "Maybe you could tell me along the way? I'd love to hear about your travels with Ash also."

May was a bit wary about his carefree attitude around the subject of Ash. "Um, Barry, you have heard about what happened to Ash, right?"

Barry looked a bit glum. "Yeah, of course, who hasn't? Even people who barely knew Ash have heard about it. He was a popular face at League Competitions. But I know, Dawn told me herself."

"Oh, it just seemed like you didn't care that much about it" May said.

"WHAAAAAT?" Barry exclaimed. "Not care about the death of my friend? I hope you own the World Treasury, because when I get done fining you," he caught himself, and took a deep breath. "Sorry. Of course I cared about Ash's death. But that's not going to change my life. I grieved, for a few days, like any of his friends, but he wouldn't want us to stop living life just because he was gone."

May let these words sink into her, slowly. " _Wouldn't want us to stop living life, just because, he was gone…_ "

"What?" Barry asked.

"Nothing" May shook it off. "So, you wanted to hear some of Ash's stories?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome" Barry said. "We never really hanged out in Sinnoh, so I only really know about him what I learned while he was there."

May smiled slightly. "I'd be glad to, but let's get moving again so that we aren't late to our matches."

"Oh shoot, that's right, I'd hate to lose all because I was late!" Barry exclaimed. Pumping his arms and legs, Barry got ready to run. "Come on, let's chat on the fly!"

"Alright, then" May said. "Let's not waste any time."

* * *

 _ **House 1023**_

* * *

Ash stood stunned at the top of the stairs, looking down below. "Of all the luck in the world, why do I only have the bad kind?" he thought.

Down in the room beneath him, there were two people and three Pokemon. His own Riolu was leaning up against a wall, while an extremely familiar young man, with short black hair and a green shirt, sat, sketching his Pokemon. An Azumarill and Marill were chasing each other around the house down below, and sitting on the couch, a familiar redhead was eating breakfast.

"Why me?" Ash groaned inwardly. "Of all people, why me? And for that matter, why them? Why would they be here?"

Ash's weight shifted slightly, causing the floor beneath his feet to creak. He froze, looking down below. The young man at the bottom of the stairs turned up to the sound and saw him.

Tracy smiled. "Well hello there, neighbor, why don't you come on down?"

Mentally facepalming, Ash stepped down the stairs. When he didn't make a sound, Tracy spoke up again. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tracy Sketchit, what's your name?"

"Aaron, Aaron Satoshi" Ash replied.

Misty walked over to the two of them. "So, you're the enigmatic neighbor who sealed his door with frost, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I like my privacy" Ash said shortly, shooting a look at Riolu, who didn't notice him.

Tracy followed Ash's head and looked at Riolu himself. "So, this is your Pokemon, huh?" he asked.

Ash nodded, not commenting any further. Tracy continued. "Sorry if you minded it, but when I saw such a well raised Riolu, I wanted to take a sketch of it. I'm a Pokemon Watcher, so I always take the opportunity to record meeting exceptional Pokemon."

Ash softened slightly. "Yeah, I can understand that. No problem here."

Misty came around the side, trying to look under Ash's cloak. "Say, why are you hiding under that thing? We're all friends, and it has to be boiling under there."

Tensing, Ash pulled his cap lower. "Sorry, but I don't like to be recognized. It's not bad in here anyways."

"What, are you famous or something?" Misty asked.

"No, just a fan of my privacy" Ash said, shorter than before.

Misty seemed to take the hint this time. "Oh, ok."

Ash walked away, into the kitchen. Pulling a small bag of Oran Berries out of his pocket, he went about slicing them up into thin chunks. He did the same with one of his Sitrus Berries, and a large piece of a Tomato Berry. Dropping them all into a blender, Ash set it to turn his fruit into a smoothie.

Tracy chuckled from around the corner. "You know, we do have cereal and eggs" he mentioned.

"Yeah, but I eat naturally" Ash replied, stopping the blender and pouring it into a cup.

"Yeah, I can tell, by the way you added Tomato Berry to your mix" Tracy said nervously.

"A little kick gets me going in the morning" Ash shrugged. "I know _perfectly_ well how hot they are."

"Really?" Misty asked.

"Trust me" Ash said. "When you've been stranded in the desert, and have run out of all supplies _except_ Tomato Berries…" he trailed off, picking up the large orange berry from the counter and taking a bite out of it.

Both Tracy and Misty grew wide eyed as Ash chewed it up and swallowed it. His face got slightly red, but his composure didn't change. "Yeah, just enough of a kick to get me moving" he said.

"Wow, apparently" Tracy shuddered.

"I've never seen someone not react to such a big bite of Tomato Berry before" Misty said, awed.

Ash upended his berry smoothie, downing it in one go. Looking in his pocket, he saw that he had received a message on his Pokedex. "Ok, my battle's in ten minutes at the Ocean Field in section 2."

"Ten minutes?" Tracy asked. "But how are you going to get there in time?"

"I've got ways" Ash said simply pushing past them and running back upstairs. "Riolu, come on" his voice called down.

Riolu hopped up and dashed up the stairs, leaving the two people and their Pokemon behind. "Wow, that guy, he's quite the character" Misty noted.

"I'll say" Tracy agreed. "He's powerful, and not just with his Pokemon."

There was a thump upstairs as Ash and Riolu came flying back down, followed closely by two figures. One was wrapped in a brown overcoat, and the other was dressed simply.

The two were out the door as quickly as they came, but Misty immediately rushed over to the window. "That can't be…"

"Huh, what is it, Misty?" Tracy asked.

Misty looked out the window at the group, who had stopped on the road in front of them. The figure in the brown coat was humanoid, but not a human. He had purple skin, a sort of handle running down his neck, and two knobs on top of his head.

The other person was a young girl. Dressed in simple green attire, she had brown hair with two wing-like spikes shooting up at the sides.

Before Misty could fully think it out, the one in the coat raised his hand, and the four of them vanished in a flash of green light. Misty stepped back and went wide eyed. "Was that really…"

"What is it, Misty?" Tracy asked concernedly.

Misty looked at her partner. "I might be going crazy, but I'm pretty sure that I recognized those two that were with him."

"Huh, you did?" Tracy asked.

Misty nodded. "I could be wrong, but that girl looked an awful lot like this young lady we met in Alto Mare, named Bianca."

"So, what's so surprising about that?" Tracy asked. "I'm sure that a lot of people could look like her."

"Call it women's intuition, but I don't think that that was Bianca" Misty said.

Tracy raised a hand to his head. "Ok, now you've got me thoroughly confused."

"Yeah, I guess that I do" Misty said. "Let me ex-" At that moment, her phone beeped. "Oh, looks like my match starts in a little bit too. Sorry, when I get home, I'll be able to explain it."

Tiptoeing up, Misty pecked Tracy on the cheek. "Stay out of trouble."

Tracy blushed. "You know me, I don't get into it."

Misty smiled at him as she rushed out the door, running down the path towards the beach. "I'll call you when I get out!" she called.

"Alright, see you then!" Tracy called back.

* * *

 _ **Area 2**_

* * *

"What is wrong with you?" Mewtwo asked.

"Huh?" Ash asked. "What do you mean."

"You're over here zoning out, barely paying attention to your surroundings" Mewtwo said. "We just passed by the ocean field, why are you continuing?"

"What?" Ash asked. Looking over, he realized that Mewtwo was right, he was walking straight past where his match was. "Oh, my bad."

"I don't suppose that it has to do with those roommates we had, does it?" Mewtwo asked. "You're awkward posture around them suggests you have met them prior to now."

"Yeah" Ash mumbled. "Those two, they used to be friends of mine. You should have recognized one of them."

"Oh, yes, I thought that the redhead looked familiar" Mewtwo commented. "And the other?"

"Old friend that I used to travel with, between our two meetings" Ash said. A pain flared through his head, causing him to clutch his temple.

" _Why didn't you keep her from falling? You know that it's your fault that she's here!"_

Ash fell to his knees as the emotional trauma began to invade his mind again. "Noooo..." he moaned. "Make it stop…"

"What? What's going on?" Mewtwo asked.

"Make it go away…" Ash moaned as he clutched his head tighter.

Mewtwo looked at Latias. "Can you use your Heal Pulse like you did last time? You seem to be able to heal the pains he feels. We need him active."

Latias nodded, leaning down near Ash and placing her hand on his back. A pinkish white glow seeped out, filling throughout his entire body, lighting him up like a christmas tree. Ash's hand slowly came away from his head, and his eyes opened slowly through the tears that had appeared. "Uhhhhh..." Ash sighed as the relief went through his body.

Standing up, Ash turned around. "Thanks, Latias, I'm not sure what I would do without you.

Unable to respond, Latias instead smiled at Ash, in a symbol of welcoming.

"Now what was that all about?" Mewtwo asked.

"Bad memories, worse than most" Ash said, standing upright. "Like I said, I'm usually no good this time of year. I'm going to need to do something big to thank you Latias, I wouldn't be able to do this without you holding me up."

Latias put her hand on Ash's shoulder with a sad, understanding look in her eyes. Ash looked at her. "Yeah, you're no stranger when it comes to losing a loved one either. That's why you know exactly what I'm going through." He let out a deep sigh. "Of course, you got over it eventually. Here I am, still reacting like it was yesterday. What's wrong with me?"

"Different traumas may last for differing amounts of time, or have different effects" Mewtwo said. "Being a Pokemon engineered to only be an obedient battle machine sure was hard hitting, but mostly went to rage shortly thereafter, as you saw."

"You know, sometimes, it seems like we're just one big group of emotionally scarred people who lean on each other to keep the rage and narcissism down" Ash joked.

Mewtwo smiled. "Well, about being a narcissist, I'm not so sure how much of an impact you're having on me."

"Hey, who was struck stone dead because of a show of power?" Ash asked. "And afterwards, what did the power shower turn into? A nanny?"

"Nanny?" Mewtwo scoffed, offended.

"Relax, I didn't mean it" Ash said. Across the water, Ash heard a dull booming noise, followed by the loud voice of someone saying "Testing!"

"Shoot, my match" Ash realized. He sprinted down the boardwalk, down to the end. Another boardwalk paralleled his, quite a ways down. Attached to the two boardwalks, a long set of stands were placed, as well as an aquatic battlefield. The boundaries were marked with buoys, and the field was dotted with ice platforms.

"Alright, everyone, welcome to one of the very first matches of the Vesryn World Cup!" the announced shouted, earning a loud cheer from everyone. "At this moment, every battlefield in all five sections are filled to the brim with competitors and spectators alike, all listening in as the match is about to begin. I believe you all know the rules of a basic Pokemon Battle. These will only b battles, with the special rules not taking place. No, we are going to save those for the real rounds."

"So, without further delay, let us begin" he shouted again, earning another large cheer. "In one corner, we have the competitor, Charles Carmichael!"

A young man with slicked brown hair stood up at the opposing end of the field. He had a serious look on his face that told Ash that he meant business.

"And in the other corner, we have the mysterious, Aaron Satoshi!" he shouted once more.

"That's my cue" Ash sighed inwardly. Grabbing one of the Pokeballs on his belt, Ash stood on the platform just above the water, facing across the wet expanse at his opponent.

The referee stepped out onto the edge of the field, at the front of the stands. "Alright, Trainers. Each of you are allowed one Pokemon with no substitutions. The battle is over when one of you forfeits, your Pokemon are defeated, or you are disqualified by some manner. Let the battle, begin!"

"Alright! Simipour, come on out!" Charles shouted, releasing his Pokemon.

On top of an ice flow, the Geyser Pokemon materialized. "Simi!" Simipour shouted.

"He came prepared with a Water-Type" Ash thought. "Alright then, here goes."

"Kirlia, I choose you!" Ash stated, tossing the Pokeball high into the air.

The ball burst open, and in a flash of light, the Emotion Pokemon too appeared on an ice flow, opposing Simipour.

"A Psychic-Type, eh?" Charles questioned. "Interesting choice, you're bound to have something thought up."

"He's smart" Ash thought. "Not a typical overconfident fool like so many other trainers I've fought. He recognizes that even when things look odd, to never underestimate your opponent."

Ash felt out, feeling Kirlia's aura with his sense. Establishing a link, he spoke directly into her mind. " _Are you ready to go?_ " Ash asked through the aura.

Kirlia looked back over her shoulder. Her eye was nervous, but she nodded. "Kir" she said.

"Allow me to make the first move" Charles said. "Simipour, use Scald attack, now!"

"Simi!" Simipour cried. Steam seemed to rise from Simipour as he took a deep breath, then leaned forward and opened his mouth, a stream of boiling water streaking straight towards Kirlia.

" _Use Confusion to deflect it_ " Ash sent.

Kirlia's eyes glowed blue, as did the Scald attack. As it drew near, it suddenly curved down, heading straight into the water. " _Now, use Magical Leaf_ " Ash thought.

Kirlia spun, levitating upwards. In flashes of rainbow light, multicolored leaves surrounded Kirlia. Sticking her arm forward, the leaves dashed through the air, heading straight for Simipour.

"Simipour, use Hydro Pump to propel yourself into the air" Charles said.

"Simi" Simipour cried, spewing a powerful stream of water downwards, propelling himself skyward. However, both the Pokemon and the Trainer's eyes widened in surprise as the leaves curved upwards. Each leaf blasted towards Simipour, knocking him high into the air, before coming down to a crash in the water.

"That's right, Magical Leaf homes in on its enemy" Charles said. "Smart move, making it so that I couldn't dodge."

Simipour surfaced from the water. "Alright then, Simipour, use Surf!"

Simipour jumped into the air, a large wave of water rising behind him. The geyser turned into a powerful tidal wave, which Simipour rode straight towards Kirlia.

"Let's see…" Ash thought. "That wave is too big to do anything to with Confusion, so that's out. But water conducts electricity."

Ash smirked beneath his cap. " _Shock Wave_ " he told Kirlia telepathically.

Kirlia nodded. Slapping her hands together, they began to spark blue. Pushing them forward, Kirlia unleashed a jolt of smooth blue electricity.

"Another unavoidable attack!" Charles exclaimed. "Man, this was a bad time to use Surf! Simipour, try to counter with Focus Blast!"

As Simipour drew near to the Shock Wave, a ball of blue energy grew in his hands. Swinging his hands, the Focus Blast took flight, intercepting the Shock Wave in midair. The two collided in an explosive display.

" _Split the Shock Wave, then use Teleport to dodge Focus Blast_ " Ash sent the message.

"Kirlia!" Kirlia nodded. Spreading her arms wide, the jolt of electricity flying out suddenly forked in all directions, around the Focus Blast. Kirlia disappeared in a flash of blue light, reappearing off to the side of Simipour.

The tendrils of electricity struck the entire wave, electrocuting Simipour inside of the Surf. "Simiiiiii!" Simipour screeched. The wave dispersed and Simipour fell down on the ice floe beneath him.

"Dang, I haven't touched his Pokemon, and he hasn't even given it a command" Charles thought. "Either he's taught his Pokemon well enough to battle on its own, or he has a way to communicate with his Pokemon without talking out loud."

"But we aren't giving up yet!" Charles declared. "I worked hard to get into this tournament, and I'm going to continue! Simipour, use Hydro Pump!"

Simipour nodded, then faced Kirlia. Leaning back, Simipour unleashed a massive torrent of water directly at his opponent.

" _Teleport_ " Ash told Kirlia.

As the Hydro Pump drew near, Kirlia stood her ground. The Hydro Pump appeared to overwhelm Kirla, and disappear in the brine. "And that's all she wrote" Charles said confidently.

"You forgot to check the Author's Notes" Ash said out loud.

"What?" Charles asked. "Ah!" he exclaimed as Kirlia reappeared near himself.

" _Psyshock_ " Ash said, through the aura once more.

"Kirliaaaaaaa" Kirlia chanted, raising her hands and forming a ball of Psychic energy. Lowering her hands, the ball was launched at incredible speed, splitting into countless pebble-sized blasts as it flew.

"Simi?" Simipour gasped, not seeing it coming until it was too late. The Psyshock struck him hard, creating a pink explosion on impact as each pellet burst.

"No, Simipour!" Charles cried out.

The smoke cleared, and an unconscious Simipour lied on the ice. "Simipour is unable to battle, Kirlia wins! The victory goes to Aaron Satoshi!"

Charles stood there, dumbfounded. "Wow, Sarah was right, I should have been more serious in training. I didn't even touch his Kirlia." He grinned sheepishly. "Maybe she'll still have a chance to win this."

"Well done, Kirlia" Ash said, pulling the Pokeball back out. "Return, you did great."

"Kir" Kirlia nodded at Ash, being absorbed by the red light.

Ash turned around and hopped back onto the boardwalk and walked over by the stands. "It's not over yet. We have to do 3 rounds through the day, to get the preliminaries out of the way. I don't know when I'll get called, so I'd better stay."

Just as he thought that, he heard something. Faintly, in the back of his mind. " _C...osen..un...Ash…"_

"Huh?" he asked, startled, looking around. "Is that...?"

"And now, let's get the next match underway!" the announcer shouted, shattering his thoughts.

Growling, Ash plugged his ears. Closing his eyes, he felt out. "Mewtwo, where are you?" he asked.

"What is it?" Mewtwo's voice came through.

"I think, I think that I may have just heard Mew trying to get in touch with me" Ash revealed.

"Really?" Mewtwo asked, interest peaked.

"Yeah. It was really faint, but maybe I could hazard a guess at the direction, and point you that way" Ash explained. "If we could talk to Mew, maybe we could learn something significant."

"Well, try to get a read. I'll be quiet" Mewtwo said.

"It's not you that has to be quiet" Ash muttered as the crowd cheered around him. The Poliwrath had just scored a direct Focus Punch on the Swampert.

Closing his eyes, Ash sensed out. "Come on Mew, let me hear your voice again. Let us find you."

". . . . . . . _here. . ._ "

Ash focused harder. "Come on, Mew. I can't quite hear you yet."

" _Ash…Can...You….ear...ee…?"_

"There!" Ash thought. " _Mew, it's me. Where are you?"_

Ash felt a shaky connection, but a connection nonetheless. The voice came through more clearly. " _Ash, Chosen One, is that you?"_

" _Yeah, it's me_ " Ash thought. " _We're here on the island looking for you, but haven't had a trace of luck finding you._ "

" _The humans, ...ey've held me up in this lab, some...ere in the island_ " Mew's voice came through.

" _We know, we're here looking for you_ " Ash said.

" _We? Who's we?"_ Mew asked.

" _Me and Mewtwo_ " Ash answered.

" _Oh no…"_ Mew said. " _He's ...ever going to let me live this down, is he?_ "

" _No, probably not_ " Ash responded. " _But better to survive than be teased, right?_ "

" _When you live...long as me and him do, that's debatable_ " Mew answered.

Ash chuckled. " _Well, we still need to find you. Could you give me some sort of sign about your whereabouts? An aura flare or something?"_

" _I can try, they...ly knew what they were doing, ...uilding this cage. It's stop...g a lot of my powers"_ Mew said. " _It's taking a lot ...st to send this message. Give...a second."_

Ash felt the transmission go dark for a second. The world came back into focus, as well as the shouts of the fans from the battle. Then, far away, he sensed something. A burst of energy, just strong enough to sense, across the island.

" _Got it, Mew, I sensed that_ " Ash said.

There was no response. " _Mew?_ ' he asked. " _Darn, you probably used up too much power to keep the communication up. Well, don't worry Mew, we'll find you._ "

"Mewtwo?" Ash asked. "I found him."

"Me too. Only a fool couldn't sense that" Mewtwo's voice came back through. "I'm on it, I'll go find him."

"Alright, good" Ash thought. "I'll be here making it through the matches. As much as I want to bust Mew out, we can't, unless we want this to be our very last public mission."

"Right" Mewtwo said. "But, let's see what we can do in the meantime."

"Yeah. Good luck, Mewtwo, in your search for Mew" Ash said.

"And good luck in your battles" Mewtwo responded, before their connection was terminated.

* * *

 _ **Arena 4**_

* * *

"So that's when his Sceptile used Leaf Blade and split the ribbon in half" May said.

"Wow, that was an awesome story" Barry said. "It sounded like the two of you were pretty close, huh?"

May looked at her feet. "Yeah, pretty close…"

The two of them had made it up into the stands, waiting for the match currently going on down on the field. It was an even match between a Magmortar and a Pangoro.

"Huh, what was with that tone?" Barry asked.

"What?" May asked. "Oh, nothing."

"Pangoro, use Hammer Arm!" the trainer of the Pangoro cried.

"Counter with Fire Blast!" Magmortar's trainer responded.

Magmortar stuck his arms forward, but before he could let his Fire Blast loose, Pangoro appeared in front of him. Swinging a heavy blow, Pangoro crashed down on the immobilized Magmortar, sending up a plume of smoke.

For a second all was still. Then, a bright orange glow appeared within the dust, bursting outwards. The flames erupted in the smoke, bursting sky high and searing the faces of all of the spectators. As the smoke cleared, an unconscious Pangoro lied on the floor, and a heavily breathing Magmortar standing above it.

"Pangoro is unable to battle, Magmortar wins! The victory goes to Frank!" the announcer declared.

The crowd erupted in cheers as each trainer recalled their Pokemon. As May looked down on the field, lost in thought, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw an attendant standing behind her. "Miss Maple, your match is about to begin. Please, come with me to get into position."

"Oh, ok" May said. "Wish me luck, Barry."

"You bet, because if you don't win, I'll have to fine you" Barry announced.

"Of course" May said.

She got up and followed the attendant down beneath the stadium, coming to a stop just below the battlefield. "Alright, Miss, just wait here, and a platform will carry you up onto the field once the field is prepared and both competitors are in position."

"Right" May said.

The attendant took off, and May faced the wall in front of her. "Wow, I didn't think that it was possible to feel this jittery" she thought. "I guess the weight of this competition is really starting to take effect."

May reached to her belt and felt the Pokeballs there. "Just have to focus on winning, just remember why I have to do this." She let out a deep breath. "For Ash…"

The platform beneath her feet jerked, knocking her unsteady. Then, she began to rise, going up through the tall corridor, approaching the ceiling rapidly. Then, the ceiling slid open, a blinding light leaking through…

Her ears met cheering. She felt disoriented by the sudden change of brightness and volume. She felt the platform jerk again as it came to a halt, and she stopped moving. Rubbing her eyes to get her sight back, she began to hear the announcer's voice.

"Welcome, challengers! We are now set for the next of our preliminary rounds for this tournament! As you know, the Trainer who wins, advances, while the loser will be disqualified. Let's not waste any time, and let's get started!"

"In one corner, we have May Maple, and over in the other corner, we have Gym Leader Morty, from Johto!" the announcer shouted.

A pale man, blonde hair with a purple scarf and headband, stood at the opposing end of the field. He studied May with a careful eye. "Well then, I suppose that you will be my opponent."

May nodded. "Yeah, and I don't plan to hold back, even if you are a Gym Leader."

"Why, I never expect anything less from anyone" Morty nodded.

"Alright, you two. Let the battle, BEGIN!" the announcer shouted.

Morty tossed a Pokeball high into the air. "Gengar, I choose you!"

The ball flashed open, and the light shot towards the ground. When the glow faded, there was nothing there. Then, a Gengar lifted out of the ground, rocketing up, and releasing a ghoulish wail.

May was taken aback. "Ghost types, never liked them" she muttered, remembering the Duskull that spooked her at the beginning of her journey. "Always so tricky. Alright, let's try this." She reached to her belt. "Swellow, come on out!"

The ball opened in the air, and a large indigo Pokemon soared into the air. "Swe, LOOOOOOOOOWWWW!" Swellow cried.

May frowned. "Gary was right, I really should have brought more variety in Pokemon. I wasn't prepared for a Gengar, but Swellow, I know that he's capable of doing anything."

"Choosing a Normal-Type do fight a Ghost-Type, that's odd" Morty commented. "But it wouldn't be the first time. A trainer in Johto once defeated my with a Noctowl."

"Well, I'll be sure to win this with another Normal-Type" May declared. "Swellow, start things off with an Aerial Ace!"

"Swell!" Swellow cried, spinning back into the air, before dashing back down, streaking at Gengar as blinding speed.

"Gengar, stop Swellow with Sludge Bomb" Morty commanded.

"Gen Gengar" Gengar chuckled. Turning around, Gengar then swung forward, unleashing a large ball of purple sludge, directly at the oncoming Swellow.

"Oh no" May said. "Swellow, use Steel Wing to counter!"

"Swellow!" Swellow cried. Swellow's wings began to glow steely gray. Crossing them in front of himself, the Sludge bomb dissipated as it struck them.

"Of course, Poison has no effect on Steel" Morty thought. "Smart move."

"That's what I thought" May responded gratefully. "Now, continue Aerial Ace!"

Swellow's wings faded back to normal, and he sped back up again. At the close range from his previous attempt, Swellow was able to slam into Gengar before it had time to react, sending him reeling.

"Oh, Gengar" Morty shouted. Gengar opened it's eyes and looked back and Morty. "Oh, good, you're ok. Alright, let's give them a taste of our double disruptor. Use double Shadow Ball!"

"Ge Ge Ge" Gengar laughed, spinning, and launching two Shadow Balls into the air. They sped right for Swellow, before they curved inward and collided, filling the air with smoke.

"Keep on guard, Swellow" May warned.

The smoke directly in front of Swellow was buffeted to the side, and Gengar flew right up in front of Swellow. "Swell?!" Swellow exclaimed.

"Wow, it's fast!" May realized.

"Ghost's aren't great users of physical strength, but a good close range attack can always help!" Morty announced. "Gengar, Fire Punch!"

Gengar cloaked it's hand in an inferno, launching a blazing Fire Punch, slamming Swellow downwards into the ground. Swellow got up shakily, the front feathers in his chest singed.

"The power of a Gym Leader outside of a Gym's limitations" May thought. "He's really not holding anything back."

Swellow flapped his wings, hovering into the air, but then fell back on his feet when flaming sparks travelled across his body. "Swellow" May said. "Not good, that Fire Punch burned you."

"Swell…" Swellow growled, staring Gengar down.

"Gen…" Gengar leered back.

"Alright, Gengar, let's not stop now" Morty said. "Sludge Bomb!"

"Gengar!" Gengar shouted, sending another ball of poisonous sludge flying at Swellow at high speed.

"Swellow's too hurt to move fast enough to dodge or counter" May thought. "We're going to have to take it head-"

Suddenly, something happened to Swellow. The sparks flaring up in Swellow's feathers suddenly grew much larger, engulfing Swellow in a red haze. Swellow's eyes snapped open, and in a smooth movement, Sludge Bomb was sent flying past.

"What's that?" May asked. "Oh, wait, I know that glow."

"Maybe Fire Punch wasn't the best option" Morty chuckled nervously. "It would seem that I've activated your Swellow's Guts."

"Yeah, and you bet that we'll take full advantage!" May let out a battle cry. "Aerial Ace!"

"SWELL!" Swellow bellowed. Swellow took off, faster than before, darting low across the ground, covered in a combined red and white light.

"Gengar, counter with Fire Punch" Morty commanded.

Gengar reached back, then brought a flame-cloaked fist forward, colliding with the Aerial Ace. However, Swellow quickly overwhelmed Gengar, sending it flying.

"Now, use Quick Attack to pursue it, then smack it back down to earth with a Steel Wing!" May commanded.

Streaking after the reeling Gengar, Swellow moved so fast that it blurred, almost appearing to teleport in front of Gengar, before spinning, bringing a steel-colored wing down on Gengar, scoring a direct hit.

"Darn, Guts is boosting Swellow's physical abilities far beyond what they were. It's too strong to fight head on, and I can't think of a way to fight it alternatively" Morty said. "Oh, how about this. Gengar, use your double Shadow Ball again!"

Gengar struggled to his feet, then sent another twin Shadow Ball attack into the air, causing another huge explosion in the air, obscuring everything from sight.

"It's ok, Swellow, just be ready for Gengar in case it attacks, but we can wait for the smoke to clear" May said confidently.

"Swellow" Swellow nodded. Afterwards, however, he winced, and lost his composure, sinking slightly in the air. "Swe…" Swellow grunted.

"Swellow, what's wrong?" May asked. "No, wait, Guts is powering you up, but you're still burnt. He must be trying to stall us until your burn really takes its toll."

"Swell?" Swellow asked.

"It's ok, Swellow" May comforted. "We'll just end it before anything can happen. Use Aerial Ace!"

"Swellow!" Swellow cried. Spreading his wings wide, Swellow dived through the smoke, scattering it with sheer speed. Swellow came through on the other side of the smoke wall, startling Gengar and Morty.

"Now, spin and combine Aerial Ace with Steel Wing!" May commanded.

Rolling over in the air, Swellow began to go through the air like a comet, gray with blue in the middle, a white and red aura surrounding it, sending sparks into the air. Slamming into Gengar with a shocking combo attack, an explosion ripped through the air, sending up a beacon of light.

"No, Gengar!" Morty cried.

The smoke cleared, and a tired Swellow stood on the ground, panting hard. In front of it, Gengar lied unconscious on the floor.

"Gengar is unable to battle, Swellow wins! The winner of this battle is May Maple!" it was declared.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Swellow looked proud of himself. "Swell…" Swellow cawed weakly, before falling to the ground.

"Great job Swellow, come get a nice rest" May said, recalling the Pokemon back to his Pokeball.

"You too, Gengar" Morty said, his own Pokemon being whisked back. He raised his hand to the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I guess I'll be the laughingstock of the Gym Leader world now, to have been knocked out in the preliminaries. That was a good match though, May, and i was glad for it."

"I feel the same way" May said, re-attaching Swellow's Pokeball to her belt. "Good luck in your future battles, Morty."

"And good luck in the rest of the tournament" Morty said, waving as he left the arena.

"May moves on to the second batch of preliminaries coming up here" the announcer said. "In the meantime, let us keep this one going."

"I guess that means it's time for me to head out" May thought as she headed back up for the stands.

Barry was waiting for her, hopping up and down at hyper speeds. "Wow, that was such an awesome battle. You've been taking really good care of Swellow, it looked as good out there as it ever did in the Sinnoh League. You've got me all pumped up for my battle too!"

May smiled. "Well, I can hardly start celebrating yet" she said. "I still have to win three more battles before I even make it into the tournament, and if I end up going up against an Elite 4, or a Champion, it's all over for me."

"Come on, don't be such a pessimist" Barry said. "With that Steel Wing/Aerial Ace combo, I just know that you aren't out of tricks. You'd better use more combinations like that, otherwise-"

"You'll have to fine me?" May guessed.

"...It's no fun when people beat me to it..." Barry mumbled.

May giggled. "Well, I'm going to get some fresh air real quick. All of that nervousness before the battle, well, I'm going to get rid of it, now that I need to ground myself for the next one."

"Makes sense" Barry said. "Well, cya in a bit."

"Yeah, I'll be back" May said.

Walking outside of the crowded stands, into the fresh, early morning air, it was a difference. May let out a sigh. "Maybe, I'll be able to do this after all…" she thought. "Swellow took on the Gym Leader really well, I should be able to do just as well in the upcoming matches."

"Although…" she thought, looking at the sky. "I'm starting to regret leaving Pikachu back at Oak's Lab. I'm sure that he would want to be here to help fulfill Ash's dream, but unless he was put in his Pokeball, there's no way to get him here…" Letting out a breath, she looked at the ground. "Pikachu hates his Pokeball, so that's not an option, and Kanto is too far away for me to go an pick him up. Maybe Oak has an idea. I'll ask him when I'm switching out Pokemon after today."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. Looking in the air, she saw what appeared to be a large purple Pokemon dashing through the sky. "What kind of Pokemon is that?" she wondered. It wasn't a Flying-Pokemon, it didn't have wings of any sort, so May had no idea of what it could be.

"No, I'm supposed to be relaxing so that I'm not tense for the next match. Just take a deep breath, and clear your mind" she told herself.

She did just that, inhaling and exhaling slowly. "Just gotta remember, I can, no, I will do this. For Ash…"

* * *

 _ **Area 2 - Several Hours Later**_

* * *

*CRASH*

"Jumpluff is unable to battle, Kirlia wins! The winner of this round is Aaron Satoshi!"

"Aw man" Ash's opponent whined. "How, he didn't even break a sweat."

"Since Aaron Satoshi has won his third match in a row, this means that he is qualified for the tournament!" the announced declared. "Competitors, you'd better watch out for this trainer. He used the same Pokemon for all three rounds, and didn't take a single attack! He'll be sure to be a fierce competitor!"

"Damn" Ash thought, pulling his hat low. "I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Well, at least I'm in, so I can have the rest of the day to help Mewtwo look for Mew."

" _Kirlia, let's go_ " Ash communicated with the little Pokemon.

Kirlia Teleported next to Ash, nodding. Hopping back up onto the boardwalk, Ash and Kirlia ran back to the mainland. As they ran along the long bridge, Ash closed his eyes and began to feel out. " _Mewtwo, Mewtwo, where are you?_ "

There were a few seconds of silence, the Mewtwo's voice entered his head. "I'm out searching for the pink furball, what else?"

"I just finished up my battles" Ash said. "I'm free until tomorrow, which means that I can help search for Mew also."

"No thanks" Mewtwo said. "We need to keep you anonymous, so go rest, or explore, or whatever. I can search for Mew faster by myself anyways."

"Hmm…" Ash growled. "Alright, then. But if you turn up empty handed, then I'll hold it over your head."

"Saying that has made more more likely to find him!" Mewtwo declared with a competitive tone. "I won't let you hold anything."

Ash chuckled. "I know just how to push your buttons" he thought to himself. "Good luck then. We need to get some sort of information about this place, and Mew's bound to have overheard something."

"That's why I'm out here" Mewtwo said.

"Ok" Ash said, terminating the connection. He turned down to Kirlia. "Well, looks like Mewtwo's a big boy who doesn't need help" he teased. "We have the day off, I guess. Since you did so well in the matches today, then how about we get you something?"

"Kirli!" Kirlia smiled.

"Let's see…" Ash looked around. "This area seems to be more of a shopping district anyways. There's a lot of stores and places around than there were in the others we've seen. Let's look for a gift shop or something."

"Kir" Kirlia said.

Ash and Kirlia set off looking through the district. "Let's see… Restaurant, grocery store, a hotel? Who needs a hotel on an island with a several mile suburban housing area in the center?"

Ash shook his head. "Redundant, this place just seems to be all about excess. Five districts, each one with at least a couple dozen battle arenas. So many houses that they could fit everyone in Kanto and Johto combined inside of them, and yet they still put a hotel in?" Ash sighed and facepalmed. "I'm sorry, but that's just a little bit overboard, no matter how you look at it."

"Kir?" Kirlia asked.

"Sorry, just, ugh" Ash sighed. "Some humans can just be way too stupid, especially when they have too much money for their own good."

Ash looked up into the sky, watching a flock of Altaria fly past. "That's part of the reason that I don't like being back in a setting like this. In nature, everything is simple, all is fair. Here, there's just too much effort being made to make everything overly artificial."

Ash saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, that might work" he said.

A store named Clampearl's Treasure Trove was situated a little ways down to strip. "Now that's a gift shop if I've ever seen one" he chuckled.

Walking over, Ash pushed the door open, Kirlia walking in beside him. The store was decorated like the bottom of the ocean, with sparkling, dark blue walls. The shelves were colored like coral, and the floor looked like sand.

Ash began browsing the shelves. "Hmm, a lot of sea-based merchandise, not too much Kirlia would like."

"Kirlia…" Kirlia said, stepping down the aisle, looking at everything. "Kirlia? Kirlia."

"Hello young man, may I help you?" a voice came from the back of the store.

"Hmm?" Ash grunted. Rounding the end of the isle, an old lady stood behind the counter. "Oh, hello there. I'm just looking for something for my Pokemon."

"Oh, your Pokemon?" the old lady asked. Looking down, she noticed Kirlia. "A Kirlia, eh? I think that I may have just the thing."

The lady walked over into the back, disappearing for a moment. When she came back out, she was holding a small polished wood box. "I feel that this would suit your liking."

"Huh, what is it?" Ash asked. Stepping forward to the counter, Ash looked at the box. The lady pressed a button on the front of the box, and it popped open. Inside, a prism the size of a ping pong ball laid. "What is this thing?"

"It's a special gem, found on this beach long ago" the lady said. "It is said to glow brightly when energized, specifically reacting strongly to Psychic energy. The light emitted from it when charged is quite dazzling."

"Really?" Ash asked.

"Sure, try it out" the lady said, picking the stone out and dropping it in Ash's hand.

"Oh, thanks" Ash said. Leaning down, he crouched near Kirlia and held the prism out.

Kirlia reached out and grabbed the prism with her hands. "Kir?" Kirlia asked, examining the gem.

"She said that it glows when it's charged with Psychic energy" Ash said. "Why don't you try using Confusion on it?"

"Kir? Kirlia" Kirlia nodded. Kirlia closed her eyes and began to glow with a blue energy. The stone glowed with the same energy, and lifted out of her hands into the air. The blue glow seemed to be drawn inside of the gem, and then beams of light began shooting out, bright, multicolored streams, lighting up the entire store.

"Oh my" the lady said. "It's never glowed this brightly for me before."

The stone's light faded and it dropped back into Kirlia's hands. "Kir!" Kirlia said, delighted.

"Well it sure seems to be a hit with Kirlia" Ash chuckled. "How much for it?"

"Well, let's see here" the lady said. "I've had this gem on me for as long as I can remember, and never has it has such a strong reaction. I must say, I think that it was meant for you."

"Really?" Ash asked.

"Indeed" she said. "So, how about we call it even at 2000 Poke?"

"2000 Poke?" Ash thought. "That's most of what I have left. Well, I guess that I might earn something from the tournament, so I might as well."

"Sure, I'll take it" Ash said, digging into his pocket. "Here" he said, handing the money over.

"Thank you very much" the lady said. "Here, the box for it to go back in when you're done with it" she pushed it across the counter.

"Thank you too" Ash said, picking up the box. He looked down at Kirlia. "Happy?"

"Kirlia!" Kirlia nodded joyfully.

"Great, I'm glad" Ash said, smiling. He waved at the lady. "Thanks again!"

"No problem, any time" she said, waving them out.

Ash smiled down at Kirlia as they wandered out. "Hey Kirlia, I say we head home. Do you think that you could Teleport us?"

"Kirlia!" Kirlia nodded, still happy from her gift.

"Here, let me hold onto that" Ash said, placing Kirlia's prism in the box. "I can help you with it, too."

"Kirli" Kirlia said, closing her eyes to focus.

Ash kneeled down and placed his hand near Kirlia. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Ash sent a small pulse of blue energy out, into Kirlia.

Kirlia began glowing with the aura Ash had sent into her. Spreading her arms wide, Kirlia enveloped them both in Psychic energy. The light blew exploded outwards, and the two of them disappeared in a flash, leaving the area clear.

* * *

 _ **Arena 4**_

* * *

"Don't give up, Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut!" May cried.

"Don't let it, Archeops, Acrobatics!" her opponent shouted.

The ancient bird Pokemon dashed through the air, striking out rapidly. Blaziken retreated, dodging Archeops' attacks, the bringing up a powerful blow, knocking Archeops upwards.

"Now, finish things, use Fire Spin!" May shouted.

"Blazi, KEN!" Blaziken roared, sending out a twisting ring of flames, spiraling and enveloping Archeops in an inferno.

The flames cleared to reveal an unconscious Archeops. "Archeops is unable to battle, Blaziken wins! The victory goes to May Maple!"

May let out a huge sigh of relief. "Great job, Blaziken, come get a good rest" she said, recalling her partner.

"Since this is the third battle that May has won, she is now officially qualified for the tournament, congratulations!" the announced shouted.

Wiping sweat off of her forehead, May let a small smile escape. "Well, that's a relief."

Turning around, May went to head back up into her stand, and she had visitors waiting for her there. "Hey Max, Dawn, Gary."

Her three friends and roommates waited for her near the exit to the small arena. "Wow Sis, you've been holding back in front of us, haven't you?" Max asked.

"Yeah, you'll teach me not to think of coordinators as weaker battlers" Gary laughed.

"What was that?" Dawn asked Gary with narrowed eyes.

Gay held his hands up in self defense. "It was just one of those things you say and don't mean the negative part!" he explained rapidly.

Dawn chuckled. "Alright, just making sure."

"You two have a tendency to get easily distracted, don't you?" May asked.

Both of them turned back to May, rubbing the backs of their heads sheepishly. "Sorry about that" they said simultaneously.

Max looked at his sister, pumped. "You know, May, just by us winning the preliminaries, we've earned a spot in the Hall of Fame, right?"

"Huh?" May asked.

Max nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I did the calculations myself. The tournament is 8 rounds after the preliminaries are all set and done. Scott said that the top 256 trainers in the tournament made it into the Hall of Fame. Since the tournament is only 8 rounds, there can only be 256 trainers in the actual thing. So we made it in, just be doing the preliminaries."

"Wow, I didn't think that far ahead" Gary said. "No joke? That's pretty sweet."

"So I take it that means that you both won your 3 matches too?" May asked.

Gary bumped his fist on his chest. "With flying colors. Blastoise and Electivire swept the competition."

"And it came down to the wire when I fought this guy and his Spiritomb" Max said. "But Grovyle ended up pulling through for me."

"Wow, good to hear that you all got through" May said. "Anyone else we know get through?"

"Obviously, all of the Champions and Elites made it through" Max said. "Except for Sidney from the Hoenn Elite 4, he ended up getting matched up with Grimsley from the Unova Elite 4, who won by just a sliver."

"And I saw quite a few familiar faces from Max's list also" Gary said. "Paul, Harrison, and get this. Here's someone I never thought I'd see make it through the preliminaries. Ash's old friend Ritchie! I heard that he might be entering, but he didn't seem like the kind who would make it in from what I remember."

"Huh, I've never heard of Ritchie" May said.

"Well, I haven't seen him in a while either" Gary said. "But Ash and him knew each other from way back, the Indigo Conference and all. Haven't seen him since."

"Morrison's also competing" Max said. "We haven't seen him since the Hoenn League."

"And get this" Gary said. "We have a celebrity in our midst, competing here."

"We already know Tucker's here" May said.

"What, who?" Gary asked. "No, not that Frontier Brain guy. This guy's the real deal. Red!"

"Red?" May, Max, and Dawn asked at the same time.

Gary froze. "How can none of you have heard of Red?" he nearly yelled.

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he isn't as popular as you made him out to be?"

"Not as popular?" Gary asked. "He's only to best trainer to ever make it out of Pallet Town. Once, he single-handedly forced Team Rocket out of the Kanto Region, into hiding. They say that he could match the Elite 4 in combat, and even give Lance a good workout. And that was forever ago. Who knows what he can do now?"

"Maybe you just know him so well because you grew up in Pallet Town yourself" Max offered.

Gary facepalmed and turned away from the group. "People never know about the big deals the way you want them to…" he groaned.

The three of them sweatdropped. "Well, anyways, how about we go eat?" May asked. "I know that I'm starving."

"Good idea" Dawn said. "I saw a few places on the way in that looked like they had good food. Let's go check some of them out."

"Ok, that sounds like a plan to me" Max said.

"Why would I want to be embarrassed seen with people so out of the loop as yourselves…?" Gary muttered. Then his stomach growled. "I guess that's why…"

The four of them walked out of the arena, before May turned around. "I wonder where Barry ended up going?" she wondered.

"You know Barry?" Dawn asked.

"More like bumped into him on the way here" May said. "He was, well…"

"Hyperactive?" Dawn asked.

Snapping her fingers, May nodded. "There was the word I was looking for."

Dawn chuckled. "He was one of Ash's rivals in Sinnoh. He's always been that way, even when we grew up in Twinleaf. I'm sure he just went off somewhere without thinking. He can be a bit absent minded as well."

"Seems that way" May said, turning back. "Let's head out."

The group began moving again, walking across the island. As they went, Dawn turned to the group. "I say that we start at the Pokemon Center. We can let our Pokemon heal there, and get some recommendations while we're there."

"Not a bad plan" Gary conceded. "Blastoise and Electivire were really working it out there, and Umbreon still needs a bit of recovery too, even if he didn't get it as badly."

"Oh yeah, I needed to make a call also" May said.

"Sounds like a unanimous decision" Dawn said. "It should be just around the corner here…"

And it was. Walking in, they immediately noticed how it was much more crowded than it was the day before. After all, now all the trainers had arrived, and after all the battles of the day, many of them needed recovery.

"Hey guys, can you take Swellow, Sceptile, and Blaziken to go get healed for me?" May asked, taking the three Pokeballs out. "I need to go make my call."

"Sure thing, Sis" Max said, accepting their Pokeballs. "I'll get them up there."

"Thanks Max" May said, nodding and rushing over to the video phones.

Sitting down in front of the nearest open one, May thought hard. "Let's see here, the number to Oak's Lab, oh yeah."

Putting in the number, May sat back and looked at the blank screen. Through the receiver, the phone rung a few times, going on for about a minute. Then, a burst of static sounded, and Oak appeared in screen. "Oh, May, what a surprise. How did the tournament go for you today?"

"It went well, Professor, thanks" May said. "Max and Gary made it in as well."

"Oh, that is wonderful to hear" Oak exclaimed. "Max is a fine young trainer, I figured he would do fine. And of course, I had a feeling Gary would be able to make it as well, although after being out of the battling game for so long, I wasn't sure how rusty he was. Anyways, I ramble on. What should I suppose you're calling for?"

"Oh right" May said. "Listen, Professor, I feel like I made a mistake leaving Pikachu at the Ranch. No one deserves to be here for this more than he does. I wanted to call you to find out, is there any way that Pikachu would be able to be transferred to me without having to go back in his Pokeball?"

"Hmm, I see" Oak said, thinking hard. "I'm sorry, May, but we don't have a way to transfer Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs, not yet anyways."

"Oh…" May said.

"But I will tell you what" Oak continued. "I seem to have stumbled across some free time in my research, and as such, I was planning to come visit the island so that I could watch you and my grandson battle. I suppose that when I fly out, I could have Pikachu tag along. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind a plane flight, don't you agree?"

"Really?" May asked. "Oh, thank you professor."

Oak smiled and nodded. "No problem May. While you have me, would you like to switch out any of your Pokemon for tomorrow?"

"Oh, actually, I would" May said. "I'm sure that Ash's Pokemon will understand me wanting to switch them out, so that more of them get a shot at this. If you give me a moment, I should have Swellow and Sceptile back. I'm thinking that Heracross and Staraptor might want a shot next. Oh, and I'll be sending Infernape back as well, so that Gabite can have a chance to battle also. He has a rivalry with Sceptile, and doesn't like to be too far away from him."

"Very well" Oak nodded. "I'll call them right now, so that I can get them ready for the transfer."

"Thank you, Professor" May smiled. "Also, one other thing?"

"Yes, what is it?" Oak asked.

"I was wondering if you could take Glaceon with you too, along with Pikachu" May said nervously. "I know that I'm already pushing it by bringing Pikachu, since a Trainer should only have six Pokemon on them-"

"No worries, May" Oak laughed. "You are more than responsible enough to take a few more Pokemon around with you at once. And besides, with how close Pikachu and Glaceon have been as of late, it would be a crime to separate them."

"Awesome, Professor" May said, feeling as if a huge weight had been taken off her chest. "Oh, by the way, how are anyone going to transfer Pokemon without you at the lab?"

"Oh, I have aides that run the lab for me" Oak waved. "They'll be more than up to the task."

"Oh, ok" May said. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around and saw Gary. "Hey Gramps!" he waved.

"Oh, hi Gary" Oak waved back.

May stood up. "I'll let you guys chat while I'm waiting for Sceptile and Swellow" she said, handing the phone off to Gary.

"Thanks, May" Gary said, settling down in the seat.

"No problem, Gary" May responded.

* * *

 _ **30 Minutes Later**_

* * *

"So which Pokemon did you get, Gary?" Max asked.

The group had left the Pokemon Center a while back, and were now walking around the island. "I chose Arcanine, Nidoking, and Kingda. They haven't gotten out much since I gave up being a Trainer, so I figured that it was as good of a time as ever to get some exercise."

Dawn caught up to them, having stopped quickly to look at a map. "We're almost there. Nurse Joy told us that the best places to get some food around here are around Area 2. That's where they put a lot of their 'tourist trap' type places. They have gift shops and restaurants and all of that."

"Oh, like over there?" Max asked, pointing ahead.

A large cluster of buildings came into view. Several of them were larger than houses. "Yeah, this looks like the area that Nurse Joy told me about" Dawn nodded.

"Let's see what's here" May said. "We've got our fair share of places around here. Burger places, Ramen houses, and more."

"I don't know, what sounds good to you guys?" Gary asked. "I'm fine with just about anything."

"Hmm…" May wondered. "Maybe-"

Suddenly, May almost fell to her knees. Barely catching herself on all fours, May pushed herself to her feet. "May, are you alright?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah" May grunted. "Didn't you guys feel that?"

"Huh, feel what?" Max asked.

May felt as if something was tugging on her, pulling her in a certain direction, as if her very body was being drawn to a certain point. "Come on, are you guys messing with me?" she asked.

"No May, really, what's wrong?" Dawn asked, worried now.

May felt another pull, albeit smaller. Letting herself be pulled this time, May wandered away from the others. "Come on May, where are you going?" Dawn asked.

Ignoring her, May continued to walk towards whatever was drawing her in. She felt as if her very lifeline was tied to whatever she felt bringing her in. She came to a stop outside of a place called Clampearl's Treasure Trove. "What is this place?" she wondered.

The others caught up, running up behind her. "Come on, Sis, where are you going?" Max asked. "Huh, a gift shop? Do you want to go in?"

May shook her head. "No, I feel something, right here…"

"Huh, in front of a gift shop?" Gary asked. "On the welcome mat?"

"I can't explain it…" May said slowly. "But on this very spot, I feel, like something is pulling me right here, like, I'm tied to this spot."

"Really? Weird" Max commented.

"We should probably worry about that later" Dawn said. "Come on, let's all get some food, then we can see if you still feel something here."

"Hmm?" May grunted. "Oh, alright."

Stepping away, May walked away from the spot. "Come on, let's go see about that Ramen House we saw on the way here."

"Right" the others said.

May turned away from the gift store uneasily. "What was that?" she wondered.

As the group left the spot in front of Clampearl's Treasure Trove, the area was left absolutely clear. Just as they passed out of site, on the spot where May had just been standing, a single blue spark came into existence, sparking out of thin air, then vanishing as quickly as it had come.

* * *

 **And so now, the tournament has officially begun. Props to anyone that recognizes the easter egg I threw into this chapter, back during Ash's battles. I hope you all enjoyed it, please drop a review, and I'll see you next time! Cya!**


	6. May's Detective Agency is back on

_**House 1023, Several Hours Later**_

* * *

"Not, a, word."

"Just one. Failure."

Mewtwo growled at Ash. "I'd like to see you find Mew in this mess of an island. There's way too much on this island to look for a little pink furball."

Ash chuckled. "But didn't you say that 'You were assured to find him,' and 'you won't let me hold anything over your head?'"

Mewtwo shot Ash a death glare, but then it softened slightly into a look of abashment. "I, suppose, that I shouldn't have been so overconfident."

"Umpteenth times the charm for that lesson" Ash muttered. "Just because you're powerful doesn't mean that you're perfect. The scientists that made you were so out of the loop that they thought there were only 150 species of Pokemon, I mean, come on. Me, I understand having thought that at first, since I was just a little kid in an out of the way town. But they were full grown people who study Pokemon, that just seems a bit, well, idiotic."

"I can't help but agree with that" Mewtwo conceded. "How they could create a brand new species of Pokemon, yet fail to be in touch with the rest of the world in any way, well, I shouldn't be here if that's their level of intellect."

"Yeah…" Ash said. "Well, anyways, we always have tomorrow to search again." Ash couldn't help but chuckle again. "Or should I say, 'you' have tomorrow to search again."

"What?" Mewtwo asked.

"Well, you obviously will want to redeem yourself for such a failure, and besides, I have a match tomorrow" Ash said. "It just came through on my Pokedex a few minutes ago, I have a match at noon, in a colosseum across the island."

"I see" Mewtwo said. "Are you sure that you won't require my assistance with the battle?"

"It's just a one on one" Ash waved it off. "If I end up fighting someone who really needs you to take care of them, then I'll give you a call and you can Teleport to me."

"Very well" Mewtwo said. A beam of light shot up into Mewtwo's eyes. "Hrrgh, _can you stop doing that?!"_ he roared, causing an explosion near Kirlia's feet with Psychic power.

"Hey, Kirlia didn't mean it" Ash defended, as Kirlia flinched backwards, frightened. "She's just enjoying her reward."

"Just keep it under control" Mewtwo growled, giving Kirlia a death glare. "I don't appreciate being blinded. I don't believe anyone does."

"Oh, alright, you giant grouch" Ash said. Leaning down, he looked Kirlia in the eye. "Hey, do you think that you can play with your prism somewhere where it won't shine on Mewtwo?"

Still shaking, Kirlia nodded and picked up her prism,running out of the room. Ash turned back to Mewtwo with a cold stare. "Treat my partners like that again, and I don't care how powerful you are, or if I need you to help save Mew. I, will, end, you" he said the last sentence with a bone-chilling tone, one that even got to Mewtwo, as he was knocked uneasy.

"Alright, I'll leave the little ones be" Mewtwo said. "But Pidgeot and the others know what they're getting into if they try to instigate with me."

"Hmmph" Ash grunted, turning away. Taking off his cloak, Ash threw it onto the chair. "It's getting late, and considering my current circumstances, I need rest. Are you sure that Latias is ok?"

Mewtwo nodded. "She wanted to keep flying out in the air for a while. With the night sky, we were pretty sure she couldn't be seen. She said that she'd come back, just leave the window open so that she can fly in."

Ash nodded, throwing the window open. "Let me go get Kirlia, and then I'll hit the sack."

Walking out of the room, Ash felt out, looking for Kirlia. "This way" he muttered to himself, walking up the hall.

Mewtwo closed his eyes. "One thing I've learned about that kid, his emotions can get the best of him pretty easily. And when he's already emotional, better watch out."

Mewtwo looked out the window. "Still, I wonder what my counterpart can do for him. He always leaves around this time of year, to visit him. What exactly does he do to help Ash through this 'emotional funk' he finds himself in."

Behind him, the door creaked open. "Back so-" Mewtwo began to ask, turning around to face Ash. Except it wasn't Ash.

"It, it is you" Misty said. "Mewtwo…"

Mewtwo turned to face the redhead. "Fuck…" he muttered, Teleporting away.

Misty stood, frozen in the doorway. "I was right, earlier…"

 _A thump sounded upstairs, and their roommate flew down the stairs, followed by his Riolu, a figure in a brown cloak, and a simply dressed woman, and they all rushed out the door._

 _Misty immediately rushed over to the window. "That can't be…"_

 _As she thought it out, the group of four disappeared in a flash of light. "Was that really…?"_

" _What is it, Misty?" Tracy asked._

 _Misty looked at Tracy. "I might be going crazy, but I'm pretty sure that I recognized those two that were with him."_

Misty looked at the floor. "It, it was really Mewtwo. The same one from Johto, too. I could tell, he recognized me." A small gasp caught in her chest as she thought of something. "Wait, if I was right about that being Mewtwo, does that mean, that the other person, was she really-"

"And what, exactly, are you doing in my room?" a cold voice came from behind her.

Flinching heavily, she turned around and saw her roommate and a Kirlia behind her. He barrelled past her, pushing her aside and rushing into his room and looking around. When he turned around, he seemed to be glowing with an intense aura of anger. With a shock, she realized that he actually _was_ glowing. A blue energy was coming off of him. "And what, did you do to my partner?"

Misty was rooted to the spot by terror. "I-I swear, I didn't do anything. Mewtwo just saw that I had seen them, then vanished."

Ash stared her full in the face. She couldn't see him from behind his hat, but Ash saw her. As soon as he focused on her, all it did, was send him back.

" _She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!"_

A searing pain shot through Ash's head, both from an overflow of bad memories, and the result of which being his Aura being expended. The blue energy rolling off of him grew larger, now blowing outwards like a mist, rather than clinging to Ash's body.

"Are, are you okay?" Misty asked. She was terrified by what was going on in front of her.

The energy flew towards her, overcoming her, enshrouding her in the same energy. "What, what is this?" she asked. A force like a gale pushed against her, pushing her slightly back. Then, from nowhere, a sudden pain pierced right through her heart, a feeling of pain, rage, loss, sorrow, all at the same time. The sheer feeling nearly brought tears up, and she could tell that all of this pain was coming straight from the figure in front of her.

She felt her body go slightly limp from the feelings that were imprinted on her, and she was pushed out of the room. She stumbled back, catching herself against the wall as her strength was drained away by those emotions.

Ash saw that she had left the doorway. Fighting through it, he reached forward and slammed the door shut. Reaching up, he smacked himself, feeling the sharp, physical feeling helped him come to. Closing his eyes, he did his best to recapture the aura floating around him. Reaching down to his belt, Ash pulled out a ball. "Lapras, I _hrrgh_ , need you" he grunted, releasing Lapras from the ball.

"Laaap?" Lapras cooed, looking at Ash concernedly.

"I'll be ok" Ash said, flinching as he felt the effects of his aura loss. "Please, use Ice Beam to seal the door back up."

"Lapras" Lapras nodded. Opening her mouth, a beam of blueish white energy streamed out, striking the door, and covering it in a block of ice. As the ice spread across the door, the few particles of aura left in the air were sealed into it, causing the ice barricade to glow slightly blue.

"Great job, return, Lapras" Ash panted, recalling his Pokemon. Clutching his chest, Ash collapsed on the bed. "That should make sure that they stay away, at the very least, although they probably think that their roommate is some sort of freak." Rolling over on his back, Ash let out a sigh. "Whatever, not like I care. She didn't respect my privacy without enforcement anyways. Now I just need a good night's sleep, and, ugh, I should be feeling better."

Breathing heavily, Ash heard a small whimper in the corner. Twisting his head, Ash looked over, and saw Kirlia, shivering. Another kind of pang struck through Ash's heart, one of guilt. Using all of his remaining stamina, he sat up. "Sorry, about that, Kirlia" he puffed out. "I, may have gone, a bit, too far. I'm sorry for making you see that."

"Kir?" Kirlia said hesitantly.

"Truly" Ash said. "Here, return and get a new rest, and I'll try to make it up to you tomorrow."

"Kir…" Kirlia said, nodding.

Ash grabbed Kirlia's Pokeball from the bedside table, and recalled the young Pokemon. Chuckling slightly through his pain, Ash looked down at it. "I really kind of spoil you rotten, don't I?" he asked. "You're like my baby daughter, I give everything to you."

Chuckling to himself, he turned over and placed the ball back on the table. Flipping back onto his back, Ash rolled over and pulled the covers up. "I'll just leave, first thing in the morning. I don't need to stay here anyways, I guess, at least after tonight. I need to stay here so that Mewtwo and Latias can find me. I hope that the others just stay away from me, but knowing them, they'll just be more curious about me now. Maybe I'll set up camp on the beach, or in the forest."

Grunting, he clutched his chest and let out a breath. "Man, this is what happens when Mew doesn't help me through this time of year, eh? Oh well, if Mew can't help me escape, then I'll just escape into my dreams."

Closing his eyes tight, Ash let out a final, deep breath, before he gave himself up to unconsciousness.

* * *

 _ **Outside**_

* * *

"Misty!" Tracy shouted, rushing over.

Misty struggled to her feet, panting heavily, still clutching her chest. "T-Tracy?" she asked.

Tracy helped her up. "Yeah, what happened? I heard some sort of massive commotion, and then I find you like this. What's up?"

Misty's hand fell away from her chest. "I, I was right. That was Mewtwo with him."

Tracy's eyes widened. "Mewtwo, the artificial Pokemon that you told me about? The extremely powerful one?"

Misty nodded. "When it saw me, Mewtwo vanished. Then, our roommate, he totally freaked out. He, he started using, some energy, like it had his emotions tied into it. Tracy, if those were his…" she trailed off.

"Misty?" Tracy asked. "What happened?"

Misty shook it off. "I think that we've been a bit too invasive with our curiosity, Tracy. This guy, he's seen a bit too much. What was coming off of him, I just know, those were his experiences, somehow turned into energy, and just a taste of what it was, I felt like I almost went mad."

"What?" Tracy asked, stunned. He looked hesitantly at the re-frosted door. "Does, does he really have it that bad?"

"Yeah" Misty murmured, just being able to stand on her own. "I'll never be able to forget, all of that glowing blue energy, as long as I live."

Tracy gasped. "Glowing blue energy?"

* * *

 _ **Area 2**_

* * *

May kneeled down before the entrance to the Clampearl's Treasure Trove. "Come on, I just need a hint. What's here that I feel is so important?"

May spread her hand across the ground in the center of the spot that had beckoned her. "What is it, that I almost felt as if my life force is drawn here?"

Behind her, Dawn shivered in the night air. "Come on, May, let's just go home. You don't feel it anymore, do you?"

May frowned. "No, not anymore. It's barely faint now, but I could be imagining that, because of what I felt earlier…" she murmured. Pushing herself to her feet, she continued to stare at the spot. "Looks like May's Detective Agency is back on the scene. Today, we investigate a strange force that pulled young Miss Maple to this very spot, temporarily, then vanished, without a trace."

"Can we please investigate tomorrow, May?" Dawn asked. "It's getting late, it must already be 9 o'clock."

May turned around to face her friend. "Sorry, Dawn, but I can't let this go. I wasn't joking when I said that I felt like my life depended on it." Turning back to face the store, May crossed her arms. "I feel like I'm onto something, I just need a lead." Looking up on the wall, May noted a security camera. "Maybe I could get a look at the tape, see if anything happened here earlier today?"

Dawn stepped up, looking at the camera. "How do you know that it happened today? Maybe it was a week ago?"

May shook her head. "No, if I felt it that strongly just a few hours ago, and now it's all but gone, it must have been recent."

Dawn stared at her friend, then chuckled. "What is it?" May asked.

"Oh, I just haven't seen you this energized in forever. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm glad for it" Dawn said.

"Oh, that" May said, her smile fading slightly. "It was actually Barry, he told me something that, well, changed my perspective."

"Really, Barry did this to you?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah" May said. "He told me, 'that Ash wouldn't want us to stop living life just because he was gone.' And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized, he was right. Ash didn't save me just for me to feel like I was indebted to him forever. What I'm doing, it's my choice. But I shouldn't feel terrible forever because of it. I should still try to be myself."

"...Wow, I didn't know Barry had all of that in him..." Dawn said, impressed.

"Yeah, well, sometimes, it just takes words from a right source to make all the difference" May shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess" Dawn laughed.

May turned around. "This place closes in about half an hour, so we'd better try for the video now. Follow me."

May pushed the door open, Dawn right on her tail. "Wow, this place is pretty cute" Dawn gushed, looking at the undersea-themed decor.

"Yeah, but that's not why we're here" May said. "Hello, is anyone here?!" she called.

"Oh, visitors, please, back here" a voice came from the back. "I'm right back here."

May and Dawn walked to the back of the store. An elderly lady stood, waiting for them behind the counter. "And what may I do for you lovely young ladies today?" she asked.

"Hello" May said. "I know that this is an odd request, but is there any chance that I could get a look at the security footage from that camera you have over the entrance outside?"

The old lady raised her eyebrows. "Now that is an odd request. Whatever for?"

"Well, it's a long story" May said. "The short version is that I felt something out front, just in front of your store, and I wanted to see anything possible to see what could have caused it."

The old lady stared for a moment, then shrugged. "I've heard weirder stories in my life. Why not, let me go fetch the tapes for you."

As she went into the back, Dawn tapped on her friend's shoulder. "That went rather well, wouldn't you agree?"

May nodded. "Yeah. Ready to get to the bottom of the strange energy?"

"The strange energy?" Dawn asked. "Is that the best name you could come up with?"

May blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, maybe I'm not one much for names, but that's exactly what it was."

"Yeah, I suppose…" Dawn said. "I guess that I was always the more _creative_ one" she said teasingly.

"Why you…" May began to say, before the old lady reappeared.

"Here you are" she said, placing a tape on the counter. "If you want, you can use the television right here to play the tape."

"Thank you very much, ma'am" she said graciously.

Walking around the counter, May picked up the tape and plugged it into the tape player hooked up to the TV. "Now then, we set it to fast forward so we can get through it, and…"

Pressing the button, May backed up and looked at the screen. An black and white aerial image of the front area outside of the store flashed into existence. "Yay, it worked" May said.

Dawn peeked over her. "Really, was it that easy?" she asked.

"I'm glad I could help" the old lady smiled. "I'm going to go sit in the back. May you young ladies please tell me when you are finished so that I may lock up?"

"Sure thing" Dawn said.

May and Dawn proceeded to view the footage. Each hour went by in a minute. Several people walked into the store, some with Pokemon, some without. After several hours of the tape, Dawn began tapping her foot. "May, I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary" she said.

At that moment, another person and his Pokemon walked out of the store, and vanished. "What was that?" May asked.

Rewinding the tape and putting it on normal speed, May replayed the scene. Walking into the store, someone, cloaked in a dark costume and with a hat covering their face, walked into the store, alongside a Kirlia.

"A mystery man and a Kirlia?" May asked

A few minutes later, the figure walked out. Kneeling down beside the Kirlia, they both disappeared in a flash of light.

"Now what was that about?" May asked.

Dawn looked over her shoulder. "May, that was just a Teleport. Someone just didn't want to walk all the way home. Maybe they had a tough day battling?"

"Far from it" the old lady said, coming back out behind them.

"Huh, do you know this person?" May asked.

"Not intimately, no" the lady admitted. "However, he did come into my store, looking for a gift for his little Kirlia, as a reward for battling well."

"Yeah, but that's kind of an odd thing to do" Dawn said. "All of the Pokemon today battled well."

"Not like this one, from what I heard" the lady chuckled. "Looking at the recording of the battles, I watched that young trainer, and I must say, he was hot stuff. Without giving a single verbal command, his Kirlia swept all three of his opponents without even being grazed by an attack."

"Without taking a single attack?" Dawn gasped. "But, didn't Max say that even Tobias had a good fight during one of his preliminaries?"

May nodded. "Yeah. What kind of trainer could be this powerful in a tournament of this level?"

"A darn special one" the old lady chuckled. "I'd say his Kirlia truly deserved it's reward."

May stared at the screen. "A powerful trainer and a Teleport couldn't have caused what I felt earlier." Looking at the screen, May recognized herself walk up to the store. With a defeated sigh, May switched off the video and ejected the tape. "Darn, no answers here."

Dawn patted her friend on the shoulder. "Well, we can always look at something else tomorrow."

May shook her head. "No, this was my only lead. Besides a lot of trainers, nothing happened here today."

"Well, I'm sorry that you didn't find the answers that you were looking for, Miss" the lady said, taking the tape. "It's closing time, anyways. Please, I need to wrap things up."

"Right, let's go, May" Dawn said.

"Right" May said, walking out behind her friend. "Thank you anyways, ma'am" she called back.

"Anytime" she said cheerfully.

Stepping outside, May looked up. "You're right, it's getting pretty late. Why don't we get back? I may have a match tomorrow, so I need a rest. Come on, let's go."

Dawn smiled. "Right" she said, nodding.

The two set off down the path. The sky now dark, the only light came from a full moon in the sky. Looking out to her right, May looked across the waves, letting out a sigh. Dawn looked concernedly at her friend. "What is it, May?" she asked.

May didn't say anything. She walked silently, the only sounds breaking the silence being the light lapping of the waves against the shore.

This made it all the more startling when May piped up a moment later. "I don't know why, but Dawn, there was something, a feeling inside of me, that whatever that was earlier, it was important beyond belief. I just wish, I wish…" she trailed off.

Dawn nodded. "I understand what you're saying, May." Dawn looked up and thought for a moment. "If it's this important, maybe there is more too it than we thought."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"Well, I didn't give it much thought at the time, but I noticed something, just a teeniest bit odd in that video" Dawn said. "At the moment where we walked away, something, almost like a burst of static happened, right where you were looking."

"So?" May asked.

"Well, then I thought, 'that didn't look too much like static.' It was more like a spark. And even though the video had no color, I swear, that spark looked a lot like the energy the Kirlia made when it Teleported. Maybe there is something odd there that has to do with you."

May looked at her friend. "Really? What do you think?"

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know, but if we want answers, then our best bet is probably to find the Kirlia, or its Trainer."

"How would you recommend we go about doing that?" May asked. "The only thing we know about the trainer is that he covers himself, and he has a powerful Kirlia."

Dawn chuckled. "I don't know May, it's not like we know anyone who is always in the know about powerful and popular trainers."

A smile began to creep back onto May's face. "What do you know, that little brat is good for something after all."

"Yeah, but tomorrow, May" Dawn said. "Max probably needs his sleep as much as you do."

"Oh, alright" May huffed. "Let's hurry home. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I can get back on the trail. May's Detective Agency is not going to rest until this mystery is solved."

"Then you should stop flapping and start walking" Dawn said.

"Right" May said. "Race ya'." She took off at high speed down the path.

"Hey, what?!" Dawn asked, taking off after her friend. "No fair!"

* * *

 _ **?**_

* * *

" _Mew, I'm here" Ash called out._

 _A small pink Pokemon materialized in front of Ash. "Is it that time of year again already?"_

 _Ash nodded. "Yeah…" he muttered._

 _Mew flew around Ash's head. "Hey, don't be glum" Mew said with an air of cheerfulness. "Remember, this is your time to forget life and rest."_

" _Doesn't change why I need to forget" Ash said. "This helps me, doesn't mean I like the reason I need help."_

" _Understandable" Mew spoke. "Here, come, we shall get you set up."_

 _Ash nodded, walking after Mew. As the two walked through the caves of the Tree of Beginning, Mew twisted in the air, facing Ash while floating backwards. "Last year, we didn't talk much before I sent you off. Tell me, why rely on artificial escapes, when last you were here, before falling fully on your Chosen duties, you had endless friends who could be just as supportive?"_

 _Ash looked at the floor. "I can't face them, not after what happened, Mew. You wouldn't understand. You may be a deity in your world, but someone as small as myself, being the cause for… No, I can't show my face to them."_

" _Oh…" Mew said, turning back around. "You're right, I wouldn't understand that. However, I do understand being responsible for life. You know me, I have to be careful every single day, because if I am harmed, then it jeopardizes the lives of the hundreds of Pokemon that live here. However, if a circumstance is beyond my control, I may feel guilty for the risk of all of these loves, but I also realize that, in that case, I had no role. If I did my all to prevent it, it's not on me."_

 _Ash stared at Mew, thinking about what he had just said. Not looking where he was going, Ash tripped and smacked into a crystal growth. Falling to the ground, Ash rubbed his shoulder, and stared in shock as the blue crystal began to glow orange. A gel began to leak out of the crystal, where it had chipped from Ash's impact. The gel glowed orange and took on the form of a Kabutops, stepping towards Ash. Seeing the oncoming form, Ash closed his eyes and lied still._

 _A figure flew through the air in front of him. "It was an accident, he meant no harm" Mew's voice was heard._

 _Gradually, the orange glow seeping through Ash's eyelids faded, and a blue glow replaced it. He felt a small form drag him upright. "Ash, are you okay?" Mew asked._

 _Ash's eyes opened slightly. "Yeah" he muttered, standing up on his own._

 _Mew descended and looked at Ash in the eyes. "I couldn't help but notice that you made no effort to avoid the guardian cell. Why not. It would have devoured you."_

" _To be honest?" Ash asked. "I didn't care."_

" _What?" Mew asked, shocked._

" _Like I said, you couldn't even begin to understand the guilt I feel" Ash said. "Death would be sweet relief compared to living with this kind of burden."_

" _Chosen One, such a course of action, that is the most foolhardy thing you have ever attempted" Mew admitted._

" _Whatever, it didn't happen anyways" Ash shrugged. "I've already done so much for this world, I just want to feel relief."_

" _That's what we're here to do, though" Mew said._

 _Ash shook his head. "Permanent relief…"_

" _..." Mew was silent._

 _Ash looked up at Mew. "But that was a moment of weakness. I know, I can't just let myself up, but sometimes my body forgets. I'm needed here."_

" _..."_

 _Ash began to walk ahead. "I'll meet you in the central chamber. I'll link my aura to the Tree's supply to keep my levels down, and you can send me off when you get there."_

" _..."_

 _Ash walked around the corner and out of sight._

* * *

 _ **House 1023**_

* * *

"Ash..."

Ash's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright. Mewtwo floated above the foot of his bed. "Mewtwo?" Ash asked. Out the window, the sky was barely lit with a dull, blueish-gray light. In the corner, Latias slumbered, in her true form.

"Yes" Mewtwo grumbled. "Sorry to say it, but that little nuisance that had already met me came in and saw me. I'm afraid that we may be in trouble."

Ash rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Yeah, I know. Besides, I did something pretty bad myself. It's time we head out anyway. We can go camp out somewhere, like we have for years."

A shudder rippled through Ash, remembering his dream. "Hmm?" Mewtwo asked.

"Memories" Ash grunted, standing up. "Nothing great, but what are you going to do?"

"Oh" Mewtwo said.

Ash walked over and grabbed his cloak and hat. "Let's head out of the window. I don't need those two sticking their noses where they don't belong."

"I see. I suppose that we aren't returning here?" Mewtwo asked.

"No, we'll camp out somewhere, nearby so that I can still get to my matches, and we'll stay out of the way while we aren't in them" Ash explained. "We still need to save Mew, so no point in backing out now."

"Very well" Mewtwo said. "I will wake up Latias, and we can head out. Since your match is at noon, we should just head over and be ready. It's only a six hour wait, no point in getting set up somewhere."

Ash nodded. "I'll meet you out there" he muttered. Walking over to the window, he hopped onto the windowsill, and lept outwards. Catching himself on the branch of a tree on the way down, Ash hit the ground and stood up, brushing his legs off. Looking around, there wasn't a single other person up. Even the Pokemon were still asleep, such as the Caterpie beneath the bushes or the Zubat underneath the eaves of the house.

Looking up, Mewtwo and Latias flew out of the window and touched down near Ash. Latias leaned back and cloaked herself as a human, while Mewtwo had his brown cloak on. With a flick of his wrist, Ash's bag of supplies came flying out of the window as well, Ash catching it in his arms. Nodding at Mewtwo, the three set off down the road.

"Rather peaceful" Ash commented. "Without all of the people bustling around, this could almost be natural. If only the houses weren't so artificial, they might be nice in a natural place. It's calm."

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes, early mornings alone were always a favorite time of mine. There's just something about them that makes them enjoyable."

Ash and co. came to a stop at the end of the street. "Now where is this match of your taking place?" Mewtwo asked.

"Let's see here" Ash said, digging his Pokedex out. "Noon, at the Colosseum in Area 1. A good walk away, but when you have six hours to be there, there's no rush."

"Does is say who you will be going up against?" Mewtwo asked.

"Nah" Ash shook his head. "Just time and location. Makes it so that you can't predict your opponent's strategies by looking them up."

"So you could be fighting a nobody that got lucky in a random league…" Mewtwo said. "Or you could go up against one of the Champions, and you wouldn't know until you got there?"

"Pretty much, yeah" Ash said. Wincing slightly, Ash gripped his right leg.

"What happened?" Mewtwo asked.

"Just feeling the aftershocks of aura expenditure" Ash grunted. "Don't worry, I got this."

Holding his hand out to his side, Ash materialized a large, clubbed staff, made of aura. "Who would've thought, the first thing I learned to do with aura would end up being the most useful" he said, placing the Bone Rush on the ground and using it like a walking stick.

"Hmm…" Mewtwo hummed. "How far away is this place?"

"Well, if we take out time, maybe an hour and a half" Ash said. "If we rushed, it would be able half an hour. But, when it's a beautiful morning, who wants to rush?"

"What about food?" Mewtwo asked. "All we have with us now is a small supply of berries, very few of which were meant for consumption, most of which were meant for keeping your partners in top form."

"I have a little cash" Ash shrugged. "I can afford a few meals at a Pokemon Center, and pull a Meditite and use any hunger I do have to sharpen my mind."

"Pull a Meditite?" Mewtwo asked.

"Meditite can sustain themselves on one berry a month if they focus on meditating" Ash said. "They use the pangs of their hunger to enhance their psychic abilities."

"Peculiar" Mewtwo offered. Taking a deep breath, he looked around. "I wonder though, should we hurry? People will be up soon."

"Fair point" Ash said. "Oh well, if too many people start annoying us, we can Teleport the rest of the way."

"You say we can Teleport as if it is so easy" Mewtwo grumbled. "Do you realize how much energy it takes to pierce through the barrier of space to move to any point you wish?"

"I guess not" Ash said. "But Kirlia does it so easily. Why is it so difficult for you?"

"Maybe because Kirlia only does if by a few feet" Mewtwo argued. "Whenever I Teleport us, it's usually by miles and miles."

"Oh right, huh?" Ash said.

"Hmmph" Mewtwo huffed, turning away.

Ash chuckled. "For being so strong, you seem pretty weak when it comes to having fun poked at you."

* * *

 _ **House 394 (Hours Later)**_

* * *

Yawning wide, Dawn sat up in bed. "I don't feel like I got nearly enough sleep last night" she muttered. "That's what I get for letting May drag me around all night long."

Hopping out of bed, Dawn threw open the door and walked down the hall. Strangely, she found that nobody was home. "Where did they all go?"

A flash of light happened, and Piplup appeared on the floor in front of her. "Piplup Pip" Piplup yawned.

"Hey, good morning Piplup" Dawn said, picking Piplup up. "How was your sleep?"

"Piplup Pip" Piplup said. "Piplup?"

"Well, I didn't get much sleep" Dawn chuckled. "You may have gotten to crash in your Pokeball, but I was out with May all night long."

"Pip" Piplup said.

"Yeah, I'll shake it off" she said, giving a huge yawn. "I just need to find out where the others went."

Walking out into the living room, Dawn noticed that a note had been left on the table. Talking over, she picked it up and began to read it. "Sorry to be gone like this, we all had matches this morning, and had to leave early. You can come watch any of us if you want, we won't be butthurt if you choose one of us over another."

Looking on the back, Dawn saw that they had written down their times and locations of each of their matches. "Wow, what are the odds, they all had their matches at the same time. Oh well. May's match starts in just a couple of minutes, so I probably won't be able to make it. Gary's and Max's matches happen at noon sharp. I do want to go cheer for Gary, but he's had a lot more experience than Max has. I feel like Max may need the support more. What do you think Piplup?"

"Pip Piplup" Piplup said.

"Max?" she asked. "Yeah, I think that I was right before. Let's go see him. It's 11:30 now, so we should be getting going now. Let's see, where exactly is this taking place?" she wondered.

Looking down at the note, she nodded. "Right, his match is at Arena 1. Let me do something with my hair, and then we'll head out."

* * *

 _ **Arena 1**_

* * *

"Things are about to start" Ash muttered to Mewtwo. "It's only a few minutes until noon, and my match is the first one of the day."

"Once it starts, if I am unneeded, I will set out to search for Mew" Mewtwo said. "However, I do not see any prominent trainers in our audience, so I think that you are in the clear."

Ash looked around. "A Gym Leader here and there, but they are easily handled" he said. "There might be some good trainers here, but unless it's Tobias or an Elite, I should be fine" he said in an analyzing sort of tone.

A loud thumping noise come over the loudspeakers. "Hello, one and all, and welcome to the first official match of the tournament!" This was met with loud cheers. "Everyone who's here probably knows the rules of battling by now. This match will not implement the Challenge Wheel, due to each trainer only being allowed the use of a single Pokemon in battle. The battle, of course, ends when either side's Pokemon is unable to battle. Without further ado, let's get this thing underway!"

And the large monitor hanging over the battlefield, a swarm of cards, showing pictures of each trainer swirled around on screen. Coming together, they spread out, dealt like a hand of cards. Each one flipped over at the same time. "Alright, here are our matchups for today!" he announced.

Ash searched for his face, but came up short when he was called before he could find his match. "Our first round competitors, report here now. On one side, we have, AARON SATOSHI!"

Dropping down to the field Ash stood in the box on his side of the field. "Aaron obviously isn't here to mess around. We rarely have trainers so ready to rumble that they jump the railing down the field. Aaron swept his opponents in the preliminaries with ease, so this will be a tough match for our other competitor. Give it up, FOR MAX MAPLE!"

Ash froze. "No, Max?" he breathed.

A young boy in a green shirt marched onto the field. He was older than when he had last seen him, now looking slightly more mature, and having grown almost 6 inches.

The name kept ringing in his head. "MAX MAPLE… Max Maple… Maple…"

"May…" Ash breathed. "I'm sorry…"

Tears fell from his eyes. "Out of everyone I could have fought, I have to knock Max out of the tournament if I want to save Mew…"

"Alright Trainers,send out your first Pokemon!" the referee shouted.

Max shifted his glasses confidently. "So, I hear that you're a tough trainer. I am too. Gardevoir, come on out!"

The Pokeball sprang into the air, releasing the large green and white Pokemon before them. "Voir…" Gardevoir said.

Ash looked at Gardevoir. "I know this Pokemon…" he breathed. "He really went back and invited Ralts along with him…"

Ash hadn't moved for a moment. The referee cleared his throat. "Aaron Satoshi, send out your Pokemon now, or we will have no choice but to disqualify you."

"Huh?" Ash asked. "Oh, ok."

Reaching to his belt, Ash pulled out an old partner. "Alright, Butterfree, I choose you!"

And with a flash of light, the purple Butterfly Pokemon sprang into the air. "Freeeeeeee!" Butterfree cried.

The monitor above them flashed the images of Butterfree and Gardevoir. "So, a Butterfree, huh? Smart move, going with a Bug-Type, but it's going to take more than a type advantage to beat my Gardevoir."

Ash sighed. "I promised you a battle one day, I just wish I could have done it right" he muttered.

Ash felt out and linked his mind with Butterfree's through Aura. " _Butterfree, can you hear me?"_ Ash asked.

"Freee" Butterfree said.

" _Alright, good"_ Ash thought.

"Let the battle, BEGIN!" the referee shouted.

"Gardevoir, use Energy Ball!" Max commanded.

"Wasn't Max always the one to know about type advantage?" Ash thought. " _Butterfree, fold your wings in front of you to take the hit."_

"Butterfree!" Butterfree said, wrapping his wings around, covering him like a shield.

Gardevoir sent a ball of green glowing energy forward, striking Butterfree head on and creating a small explosion. Butterfree was buffeted in the air, but unharmed.

"How disappointing" Ash said. "I thought you knew that a Grass-Type attack would have minimal effect on a Bug and Flying type like my Butterfree."

"Of course" Max said confidently. "That was a test drive, to measure your strength. Gardevoir, this time, use Psychic!"

"Gardevooooiiiirrr!" Gardevoir moaned, her eyes glowing blue.

" _Counter with Psybeam"_ Ash said.

Not wasting a moment, Butterfree backed up and shot a multihued beam of energy from his antennas. The beam clashed with an invisible force in midair, struggling for a moment, before the collision exploded.

"Strong stuff" Max commented. "Alright, Gardevoir, use-" Max faltered when he saw that Butterfree had vanished. "Hey, where'd Butterfree go?"

" _Sleep Powder"_ Ash commanded.

Butterfree descended from above Gardevoir at lightning speed. Gardevoir and Max both looked up in surprise. Before either of them could react, a faint blue powder drifted off of Butterfree's wings, falling over Gardevoir.

"No, Gardevoir!" Max cried.

Gardevoir looked like it was struggling to stay awake for a moment, before passing out and falling to the floor.

"A surprise move from Butterfree" the commentator said. "Cancelling out Psychic, and using the resulting explosion as cover to get in close for a Sleep Powder."

Butterfree flew back over to Ash. "Excellent work" Ash said. "We've got him where we want him."

"This thing is, if you attack Gardevoir, you'll wake her up, which means that we can go on the offensive again" Max said. "You either waste your time until she wakes up, or wake her up beforehand."

" _Let's show him"_ Ash said. " _Try a Quiver Dance._ "

Nodding with a confident blaze in his eyes, Butterfree began spinning rapidly in the air, waving through the air and shedding glowing particles. Butterfree began to glow with a faint white light.

"Rather than use Gardevoir's sleep for a free attack, Butterfree is using Quiver Dance" the commentator announced. "While this move may look pretty, the longer Butterfree can dance, the faster and more powerful it becomes!"

Max began to look worried. "Quiver Dance boosts a Pokemon's Special Defense as well" he thought. "Almost all of Gardevoir's moves are Special, which means soon, I won't be able to touch him."

"Come on, Gardevoir, you have to get up!" he said pleadingly. "We can't let him power up!"

" _Enough, Butterfree_ " Ash commanded. Butterfree stopped in the air, glowing with an aura of power. " _Hit Gardevoir with an Electroweb._ "

Butterfree dashed towards Gardevoir at shocking speeds. As it approached, Butterfree opened his mouth and thot out a stream of yellow, glowing silk. The silk weaved itself into a web formation as it flew through the air, falling on top of and pinning Gardevoir to the ground.

"VOOIIRR!" Gardevoir shrieked as she was electrified. The shock woke her up, but the severe boost in Butterfree's power became apparent, as such a weak attack did so much.

"Gardevoir, get that net off of you with Psychic!" Max shouted.

Flinching from the electricity, Gardevoir opened her eyes. Glowing blue once more, the web was lifted off of Gardevoir. "Now, crush it into a ball!" he said.

The Psychic energy contracted around the web, forcing it to all be bunched into a small orb of electrified silk. "Now, throw it at Butterfree!" Max commanded.

"Gar!" Gardevoir said. Thrusting her hands forward, the projectile was sent flying.

"Free?" Butterfree asked.

" _Use-_ " Ash began to command, but the ball flew as such a high velocity that he didn't have time to respond. Butterfree was struck hard and sent crashing into the wall.

"An ingenious use of Psychic! Since the Butterfree has powered up, they used its own attack against it, using his own power!"

" _Smart, using our own power against us"_ Ash thought. " _We can't play around with him. Let's end this fast. Use your most powerful move, Bug Buzz!"_

Butterfree's eyes snapped open. Leaping off of the wall, Butterfree soared high in the air, above Gardevoir.

"Look out Gardevoir, it's probably another Sleep Powder" Max said. "Let's counter it. Use Magic Coat!"

"Gard!" Gardevoir said, covering herself in a layer of blue, glass-like energy.

Butterfree reached his wings back, then flapped them down one. A huge wave of green energy came flying out, striking Gardevoir before either of them knew what had happened. A huge plume of smoke went up, and Gardevoir disappeared in it.

"No, Gardevoir!" Max shouted.

Butterfree landed on the ground in front of Ash. "Free…" Butterfree said, flinching from the psycho-electric shock it had received.

The dust cleared, and Gardevoir was undoubtedly knocked out. "Gardevoir is unable to battle, Butterfree wins! The victor is Aaron Satoshi!"

Max stood, stunned. "He, he was in control, the entire time." Looking down, he shook for a moment, then was still. A small grin reached his face. "If he had gone on the offensive, this match would have been over in seconds. If a Butterfree can get that strong, then I wonder just how powerful Gardevoir can become."

" _You did great, Butterfree, return"_ Ash said, recalling the Pokemon. Looking across the battlefield, he felt a pang of an all-too familiar sensation. Guilt. Guilt that because he was the Chosen One, he had to crush one of his old friends. Not just any friend, a relative, of the one that he loved.

"She's gone…" he whispered as he walked out. He knew it, but every day for the last three years, he was reminded, and every time, it came back stronger. And he could only shake the feeling off for so long before it came up behind him and knocked him on his ass.

* * *

 _ **Skyfield 2**_

* * *

"Staraptor, Aerial Ace!"

"Don't let it, use Thunder Punch Eelektross!"

May was silent as Staraptor dashed towards Eelektross. The giant eel had its fist raised, cloaked in electricity. As Staraptor drew close, May smirked. "Quick Attack to get behind it!"

Eelektross swung, but with blinding speed, Staraptor swung around behind it. "Now, use Close Combat!" she said.

Staraptor darted forward and slammed into Eelektross, hard. After several pummelings, Eelektross went flying off of its platform, and crashed through multiple pieces of terrain, before coming to a stop below.

"Eelektross is unable to battle, Staraptor wins! The victory goes to May Maple!"

"We did it, Staraptor!" May cheered.

"Star, Staraptor, Raptor!" Staraptor cheered as well.

Her opponent frowned. "Aw man, a Flying-Type beating my Electric-Type, my friends are going to tease me for life."

May pulled out a Pokeball. "Staraptor, return!"

"Star!" Staraptor cawed as he returned to the Pokeball in a red flash of light.

May took a step back, onto a platform. She began to descend down below, not so slow that it took forever, but not so fast that it gave her vertigo.

As she approached the ground, she began to notice two familiar faces waiting for her. "Max, Dawn!" she waved.

They waved back, but they looked serious. As she dropped to the ground, the two came over. "Hey Max, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to ask you something."

"If I know anything about a mysterious super-powerful trainer in a black cloak?" Max asked.

May's eyebrows were raised. "How did you know?"

Max jutted his thumb at Dawn. "She told me you were looking for him. And yes, I know about him."

"Really?" May asked. "Like what?"

Max shrugged. "The usual. He completely destroyed me in a battle."

"What?!" May asked. "You're out?!"

Max nodded. "I'm not too bummed about it. It's just an excuse to get stronger. I _have_ only competed in one league after all, making it past the preliminaries was pretty good for me. But Dawn arrived after my match was all set and done. This guy, he doesn't mess around."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

Max shifted his glasses. "I used Gardevoir, and he sent out a Butterfree. He always seemed to be 5 steps ahead of me. The only damage I did to it, what should have been a super powerful attack, it shrugged off like it was nothing. He obviously knew strategy too." Max struck a thinking pose. "A good one too. He immobilized Gardevoir by putting her to sleep, then powered up his Butterfree a lot using Quiver Dance. I don't think he needed it though. That thing blocked Gardevoir's Psychic attack with a last minute Psybeam."

"No kidding, he defeated Gardevoir with just a Butterfree?" May asked.

"With ease, you might add" Max said. "Gardevoir took a pretty bad loss. He obviously wanted to end it fast once we landed an attack."

"Did you get his name, by chance, or any other hints about him?" May asked.

"Well, his name is Aaron Satoshi" Max said. "He talked very little in the battle. Only once to me to me, and he never gave a single command to his Pokemon. Do you think that he could be a Psychic like Anabel? Maybe that could explain how he could battle without ever telling them what to do."

"That actually makes a lot of sense" Dawn said to May. "If he can command his Pokemon without talking, and it could also explain that light. He could lend Psychic energy to that Kirlia to help it. It all fits."

"Hmm, yeah, it does" May said. "Still, how would that have to do with whatever drew me to that spot outside of the gift store?"

"Why don't we ask him ourselves?" Dawn asked. "I bet we could get the information on where he's staying from Nurse Joy. He's got to either be sleeping at the Pokemon Center or in a house, both of which, he would have to check in with Nurse Joy. Or he might be at the hotel, which is just as easy to check."

"Alright, then why don't we head out?" May asked. "I really want to figure out this mystery."

"As long as you're finally happy" Dawn said. "It's good to have you back."

May smiled, with a hint of sadness. "I'm not back completely, and I don't think that I'll ever be. But I'm making an effort."

"And that's what's important, Sis" Max said.

May walked towards the path. "I needed to run to the Pokemon Center anyways. Staraptor had a good battle up there."

"We caught a bit of the end there" Dawn said. "Pretty smart to use Quick Attack to get inside of Eelektross' guard like that."

May chuckled. "Thanks, Dawn, but that's pretty basic."

"Just take the compliment" Dawn said.

"Oh alright" May huffed.

Max walked with his head reclined into his hands. "You know, I really wish I could get some of this guy's training techniques. I did a bit of research on the way over here. Nobody knows where he came from. He's hardly seen at all, very uptight, and very strong. There was some sort of fuzzy video footage about a dark figure and a small blue Pokemon beating away some bikers from a young Lapras. I have a feeling that that was him who saved the Lapras, and a little blue Pokemon, sounds like it could be this Riolu he owns. A few people saw him walking around with it the day before the tournament started."

"Really?" May asked.

Max nodded. "Yeah, and get this. People also say they see him with a Pokemon that no one can identify. It's a complete mystery to everyone. It's humanoid, pale purple skin, and walks around in an overcoat, covering himself like Aaron does."

"That's odd" May said, thinking hard. "A purple humanoid Pokemon. Could it be a Medicham?"

Max shook his head. "No, this thing doesn't look like anything anyone's ever seen."

"A brand new Pokemon?" May asked. The she started. "Hey, just after my first match yesterday, I saw a purple Pokemon fly through the sky! It didn't have wings, but it did have a long, dark purple tail."

"Hmm…" Max wondered. "Maybe that should be the next mystery 'May's Detective Agency' solves."

May glared at Dawn. "Why'd you tell him?"

"I didn't know that it was supposed to be kept private" Dawn insisted, waving her hands.

"Hmmph" May snorted. "Well, here's the Pokemon Center. "I can send Staraptor in to be healed, and we can ask Nurse Joy if she knows where Aaron is staying."

"Yeah, I'd better get Gardevoir in there also" Max said. "She's probably going to need to stay overnight."

"Yeah, I'm sorry that you got knocked out of the tournament in the first stage, Max" May said.

"Oh, it's alright" Max said. "Don't worry about me."

The three entered the Pokemon Center. While it wasn't quite as crowded as it had been after the preliminaries the previous day, there were still a fair amount of people within.

The trio walked up to the counter. Nurse Joy was there waiting for them at the counter. "Hello, welcome to the Pokemon Center. What can we do for you today?" she asked.

"Hi Nurse Joy" May said, unclipping a Pokeball. "Can you please take care of my Staraptor?"

"Yeah, and my Gardevoir" Max said, placing her Pokeball on the counter.

"Why most certainly, I'll make sure that they're both back in tip-top shape in no time" Nurse Joy said, picking up the two balls and placing them in a tray, which her assistant Chansey took.

"Also, there was something else" May said. "I was wondering, we were looking for a certain trainer, and I was wondering if you could tell me where I'd be able to find him?"

"Well, if you're trying to get into contact with someone famous, I'm afraid that privacy is a big concern of theirs" Joy chuckled.

"I don't think that he's famous" May said. "We're pretty sure that the name of this trainer is Aaron Satoshi."

"Hmm, Aaron Satoshi?" Joy asked. Typing into her computer, she looked at it for a second before turning back to them. "Of course, he's all set up at House 1023."

"Awesome, thanks" May said. "Come on, guys, our Pokemon will take some time to heal, we've got a good chance to follow this lead."

"Oh, alright" Max said. "I didn't know we were coming with you, though, I thought we were just coming to the Center with you."

"Well you don't have to come if you don't want" May said sadly, giving puppy dog eyes.

"Oh come on!" Max complained. "That's not fair. Now I'll feel guilty if I don't come."

May smirked. "That's the point."

"...You have one sick and twisted persona, Sis" Max grumbled.

"Come on, the sooner you just come along, the sooner we can all just go, Max" Dawn said.

"Oh, alright, but I'm not going to like it" Max said.

"I think that she already knows that" Dawn said.

May said nothing, because she was already at the door. The two ran after her. "Hey May, before we go, can't we wait for Gary?"

"Gary's not going to be free for a while" May said. "Remember, he's going to pick up Professor Oak at the airport."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot" Dawn said.

"So, with that out of the way, what are we waiting for?" May asked. "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Forest**_

* * *

"This looks like as good of a spot as any."

Ash slung his bag off of his shoulder in the middle of a small clearing in the forest. It was only about 20 feet across and half that wide, but it was enough for a camping space. "This is rather a nice local. Better than that time we had to do that stakeout for the mad Regirock in the Desert Ruins in Hoenn. I had sand up my ears for months."

Looking around, he realized he was talking to himself. "Oh yeah, Mewtwo and Latias went off to find Mew… Oh well, doesn't mean that I can't have any company."

Pulling the eight Pokeballs from his belt, Ash tossed them all into the air. Primeape, Pidgeot, Butterfree, Riolu, Kirlia, Rotom, and Volcarona all materialized around him. The two Lapras stayed in their balls, because there wasn't any water for them to come out in. "Hey guys, looks like we'll be camping out here again" he announced. "Cool thing is, that means that I can let you guys out and have some free time."

Ash was met with a chorus of cheers from his Pokemon. A smile was brought to his face, which faded ever so slightly. "I can never not think of her" he muttered, quiet enough that none of his partners heard him. "Running into Max, it was just salt in the wound. He's a direct line, pointing my thoughts straight at May…"

"Ri?" Riolu asked.

Ash started. He hadn't realized Riolu coming over. "Sorry buddy. Let's get a decent campground set up."

"Rio" Riolu nodded, rushing off.

Ash looked at the fleeing Pokemon. "No need to trouble Riolu. It's the same as it's always been. Besides, he's too young for me to burden with all of them."

"Enough moping, we have to get this place set up" Ash said out loud.

Walking over to a nearby tree, Ash reached up and tugged a large branch off. Setting it on the ground, he reached up and grabbed another. Turning around, he called for Primeape. "Hey, let's use these branches as plows, so we can clear the ground."

"Ape!" Primeape shouted, grabbing the branch and pushing it across the ground at high speed.

Ash chuckled. "Energetic as always."

Since Primeape was handling sweeping duty, Ash found a good-sized boulder just into the trees, and pushed it over. "Riolu, can you use Rock Smash to break this into smaller rocks?" Ash asked.

"Lu" Riolu nodded. Jumping into the air, Riolu's hand began to glow, before he struck the boulder, hard. Immediately, the bould shattered like a sugar cube, into stones about the size of Ash's head.

"Great job" Ash commented. Picking up the stones, Ash placed them in a ring-like fashion at the center of the clearing. Stomping the terrain inside to create a depression in the dirt, Ash now had his fire pit. "Okay, now all I need is the firewood-"

*CRACK*

Ash wheeled around and saw Pidgeot had used Steel Wing to split a fallen tree. Flapping his wings fast, soon, the piece that had been chopped off was now in a range of odd sized pieces,

Perfect for firewood. "Hey, nice going there, Pidgeot."

"Pijooo!" Pidgeot cried proudly.

"Shush" Ash said hurriedly. "Just because we're out in the middle of nowhere, doesn't mean that people can't hear us. Let's stay a bit quiet."

"Pijoo…" Pidgeot said, quieter.

"Good" Ash said. "But it won't really matter about you making sounds if a fire is just going to show where we are like a beacon at night" he realized. "Volcarona, Kirlia, can you guys help?"

"Cor?" Volcarona asked.

"Lia?" Kirlia wondered as well.

"Volcarona, can you give us a roof with your String Shot?" Ash asked. "And Kirlia, once Volcarona has done that, could you use Psychic to gather up all the loose leaves around to cover it, so that it just looks like trees from above?"

The two nodded, and set off, cloaking the area to hide them further from sight. "Now then, let's see…" Ash thought. "I feel like I'm forgetting something. We have a fire, a roof, I don't really need any sort of bed…" He looked around. "Although, when Volcarona is done, maybe silk beds for everyone would do nicely." Then it hit him. "Oh yeah, I can't just keep Lapras and the baby locked up in their Pokeballs."

Ash saw that Primeape had finished sweeping the area clear. "Hey Primeape. Let's dig a pit over there" he gestured, in a space a little ways away from where they were working, but where there was plenty of flat space. "Once we have a good area dug out, Lapras can fill it with Hydro Pump, so we can let those two out."

"Ape!" Primeape saluted, getting to work using Dig to clear out the terrain. Reforming his Bone Rush, Ash used the bone to pry up large slabs of the dirt, clearing it out in chunks. Within minutes, a pit that was a good twenty feet across and six feet deep was formed.

Ash and Primeape climbed out. Reaching to his belt, he grabbed one of the only remaining Pokeballs with a Pokemon inside. "Alright, Lapras, let's go!"

His faithful companion materialized on the ground before him. "Laaaapras" Lapras squealed, stretching out.

Ash walked up. "Hey Lapras, could you use Hydro Pump to fill this hole? We wanted to give a comfortable place for you and the baby to hang out."

"Lapras Lap" Lapras nodded. Looking into the hole, Lapras opened her mouth wide. "PRIS!" Lapras shouted, unleashing a powerful torrent of water. For a moment, the dry earth absorbed all of the water. However, then the hole began to fill, quite rapidly, as the dirt became so saturated that it couldn't hold any more. Lapras filled the hole after a continuous minute of Hydro Pump.

"Alright, good job" Ash praised.

"Laaap" Lapras cooed. She then scooted her way forward, splashing down into the water. Reaching to his belt once more, Ash pulled out the last ball. "Come on out" he said.

The ball popped open in his hands, and the young Lapras came out in a beam of light. "Lap?" he wondered.

"Hey little buddy" Ash said. "I figured that you'd want to get out and stretch, seeing as you aren't used to being in a Pokeball."

Seeing the two side by side, Ash realized just how young the new Lapras was. The horn on the tip of his head barely came to the tip of his Lapras' head. "Listen little guy" Ash said. "I know that I said I'd find you a home, but that'll have to wait for a little while longer. It could take a long time to find you a home, and if I don't stay here until this thing is over, then a lot of Pokemon could get hurt. Do you understand that?"

Ash wasn't sure if the young Lapras would fully understand him, but he had forgotten that Lapras are known for being extremely intelligent. The young Lapras looked at Ash and nodded understandingly.

"Good" Ash said, standing back up. Looking around, he realized that his home away from home was just about complete. All he had to do now was wait for Volcarona to recover and be able to produce more silk before he got some beds for everyone.

Collapsing against a tree, Ash let out a deep sigh. Throwing off his hat, he let his skin breath. A faint pain, noticeable, but not excruciating, flared through his shoulder. Grunting, he looked at the sky. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should ask if Mewtwo would go fetch those gloves. Maybe they would help me from expending all of my aura in another freakout. I just never liked the idea of walking around with the equivalent of training wheels. Although, Sir Aaron did wear them always, so maybe their more essential than for getting used to it."

Ash closed his eyes. "This thing is killing me. How did I make it sound believable to those two that it's ok in here?" he asked, tossing his cloak off as well. He was left in a black suit, long sleeves, but he rolled those up. "This forest is a bit muggy, but I'll get used to it. Geez, you spend 2 nights in a man-made house, and you forget how it is to live in nature. Goes to show how much I should stay away from them."

Sighing, Ash reached into his pockets. "On the bright side, I shouldn't have to hardly be in public for the rest of this tournament. All it takes is supplies, healing, and my battles, and we can get right out of there."

Suddenly, Ash felt like something was wrong. Looking around, he tried to pinpoint what exactly had him on edge, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. That's when he realized it. It wasn't something bad arriving. It was something good missing. Ash felt around the insides of his pockets, and missed the familiar object that always resided there.

"No, NO!" Ash cursed, flying up and pulling his pockets inside out. They were completely empty. A feeling of dread began to settle over Ash. "It, it can't be, just, _gone_." The image of a bunch of cut cables, with a single one still whole come to mind. And that last one, snapped. His last connection to May, gone.

The Terracotta Ribbon was missing.

* * *

 _ **House 1023**_

* * *

"You're sure that Nurse Joy said 1023?" Max asked.

"Yeah. You were there, you heard her" May said.

"Oh yeah, huh?" Max realized.

"Well, if you're so sure, May, then why don't you knock on the door?" Dawn asked.

"Come on, I was just about to do it before you said that" May complained.

"Well, this entire 'investigation'" Max said with air quotes, "was your idea. You should be doing these things before anyone else can recommend them."

"Clam it, Max" May snapped. "I'll go knock right now, how about that?"

"Good, don't mess it up" Max chuckled. He immediately earned a smack on the back of the head from Dawn.

"I think that you've picked on your sister enough for one day" she commented.

"Oww…" Max groaned.

May stepped up on the porch, approaching the door. "Ok, maybe I can finally get some answers" she thought. Raising her hand, she banged on the door three times.

"...Geez, were you trying to knock, or break in?" Max asked.

" _Ahem_ " Dawn coughed, raising her hand again, which to Max flinched away.

There were sounds of someone coming to the door. Footsteps approached, the lock clicked as it was undone, and the door swung open to reveal…

"Tracy?" May asked.

"Huh, May?" Tracy asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing" May laughed. It was good to see an old friend again, even if that friend reminded her of hard to remember times. "I didn't think that you've ever even attempted a gym, much less gone to the Victory Round of a league."

"Well, I'm not here competing" Tracy said nervously, looking over his shoulder.

Max and Dawn had just walked up too. "Hey Tracy, good to see ya again" Max said.

"Hey, good to see you too, Max" Tracy said.

May looked at Tracy. "So who's in there?" she asked.

"Oh, um, well…" Tracy said, looking down. "I don't think that it's a good idea for you to see them right now."

"Is Aaron Satoshi in there?" May asked.

Tracy froze. "Don't say his name" he shushed.

"Why not?" Max asked. "Is it tabooed or something?"

"No, it's just-" Tracy began to say, before another voice came behind him.

"Tracy, who's at the door?"

From around the corner, Misty appeared. She had definitely seen better days. She had black bags underneath her eyes, tea-stained cheeks, bloodshot eyes, and moved as if she were sore.

May tensed up as soon as she saw Misty. Max and Dawn glanced around nervously, now knowing why Tacy didn't want them to come in. May was more pissed at her dad for sure, but Misty had also attacked Ash in his last moments. It was before he had sacrificed himself, but Misty was a sore spot for May nowadays.

Tracy immediately realized that he was in a tough position. He was standing between his girlfriend, and another girl who probably didn't have anything to good to say or do to her. Trying to ease the tension, Tracy cleared his throat. "So, what exactly are you guys here for?"

"I already told you" May said stiffly."We were seeing if we could find Aaron Sa-"

"SHH" Tracy shushed loudly.

"It, it's okay, Tracy" Misty said. Her voice sounded tired and raspy, as if she were sick. "No need to keep them from even mentioning his name. What's done is done."

"What do you mean, 'what's done is done?'" Max asked.

Tracy sighed. "If I let you guys in, will you be civil, May?" Tracy asked. "Misty just went through something extremely traumatizing."

If it had been her Dad, May would have scorned any traumatic experience he may have had. He traumatized her, after all. Misty, however, it was harder to find blame for her. She did attack Ash, with very little knowledge as well, but she was much younger, and, not to cling to stereotypes, a girl. Teenage girls shouldn't be held to the things they do in an emotional turmoil.

So while it pained her ever so slightly, May gave a confident smile. "Don't worry."

Tracy let out a sigh of relief and walked back into the house, the other three following him back in. As they all sat down on the couches, May looked around. "So, Nurse Joy said that Aaron Satoshi was staying here. Is he out?"

"You could say that" Tracy said.

"What exactly does that mean?" Max asked.

Tracy glanced sideways at Misty, who nodded. "Well, we kind of, had, a situation here, last night."

"What kind of situation?" May asked.

Tracy placed his hands on his lap. "The one time we actually met Aaron, yesterday morning, it was obvious, he was a private sort of guy. The first night, we didn't even meet him, because he had one of his Pokemon seal his bedroom door shut with ice. Even getting him to have a small conversation was like pulling teeth. He came downstairs just long enough to grab his Pokemon and make a breakfast for himself, before he fled the house."

"Aaron also had a few friends with him. One of them was a purple Pokemon in a brown cloak, and the other was a young girl. Misty, however, thinks she recognized both of those that were with them."

"I know one, for sure" Misty said.

"Hey, there's no need for you to have to talk about it so soon" Tracy said.

"I'm fine, I'm stronger than I look" Misty said. "I know for sure, that the purple Pokemon was one I've met before, called Mewtwo."

"Mew, Two?" May asked. "Like, a second Mew."

"Almost exactly" Misty said. "Some scientists genetically engineered an extremely powerful Pokemon using a small sample of Mew's DNA. The result was a large Pokemon, that bears resemblance to a darker, stronger Mew. Back in Johto, me, Brock, and..." she trailed off over the last name. "We encountered Mewtwo. It was living on the top of a place called Mt. Quena. It was living there, protecting a large amount of Pokemon who were also victims to being clones through genetic engineering."

"That beside, I know for a fact that that Pokemon was the same that I met at Mt. Quena" Misty said, beginning to shake a bit. "Aaron had left the room, and as I walked by, I looked in his open door. Inside, there was no doubt. It was Mewtwo, and it recognized me. It vanished as soon as it saw me." Misty's voice was getting quite shaky now.

"Let me take it from here" Tracy said soothingly. Misty didn't argue. "As soon as Mewtwo fled, Aaron came back, peeved. He got super angry at Misty for invading his privacy and learning about Mewtwo, and making it run. He got so angry, he almost looked like he was having a migraine, and this, sort of, blue energy began to leak out of him. When it touched Misty, she felt, horrible things. It was like she was looking at memories, but not seeing anything that went on, only feeling the impact."

May, Max, and Dawn all grew wide eyed.

"I'm sure, those feelings were Aaron's" Misty coughed. "If you think I'm bad, I know, that was just a sample. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. I only felt a fraction of what he carries around with him. No wonder he was so withdrawn, he must not want to feel anything ever again."

"So when we got up this morning, the door was refrozen" Tracy said. "However, we haven't seen him come in or out all day. I think that he left, probably early this morning. I would guess that his stuff is gone, too. I can only imagine having to lug everything he brought around with him."

"I ran a broken man from a home because I couldn't respect his privacy" Misty cried. "Just because I had to be right."

Even through what anger May had been feeling towards the redhead now, it dissipated quickly as she saw her friend's eyes. Something had broken inside. It wasn't major, but whatever she had felt would definitely be haunting her.

May stood up. "Could we get a look in his room, by chance?" May asked.

Tracy looked at her. "After hearing this, you want to go invade his privacy more?" he asked.

May looked abashed. "That's not what I'm trying to do. I felt a strange, I guess, sort of energy well that I think he might have a connection to. I don't want to snoop through his stuff, but if he's gone, he shouldn't have any stuff to go through. I'm just looking for a hint about where he went, so that I can ask him about it."

Tracy rubbed the back of his head. "You can try, May, but his door is still sealed. The ice on it is glowing blue, so I think that it somehow is charged with that energy that attacked Misty last night."

"By the way…" May began to say. She stood up and made a motion for Tracy to follow her out of the room.

When they had stepped outside, May looked at Tracy. "Tracy, what exactly did that energy look like?" she asked seriously.

Tracy's shoulders dropped as he realized what she was asking. "I know what you're thinking, May, and I don't know what to think either. It looked like it, but at the same time, I doubt that we'd be sharing a house with an Aura Guardian."

May looked down. "Yeah. When we were with Ash, Aura never transmitted emotions. At least, we never got any sort of emotional read from it."

Tracy nodded. "May, you weren't thinking…"

"I can't help it, Tracy!" May nearly shouted. Covering her mouth, she sighed. "Sorry, it's hard for me. But, I really can't help but wonder. I never saw Ash disappear myself, and there are only two people I know that have seen someone disappear from aura before that. Ash, and Kidd. I couldn't ask Kidd if that's what it was, because she wasn't there, and Ash…"

"I know, May" Tracy sighed. "Is that the real reason that you've been tracking down Aaron?"

May shook her head. "If Ash really was still around, I doubt that he'd be competing here. I was really wondering about that energy well that only I felt, but when you mentioned blue energy, I…"

"That's the first thing that popped into my head when I heard Misty explain it" Tracy admitted. "But, even I don't know. I saw Aura when Ash used it to save you, so I have no way to know if what Aaron was using was Aura."

"Max thought he might be a Psychic" May said. "That seems like a more likely answer."

"I wish that we could have helped you more, May" Tracy said. "But we have no idea where Aaron is, and frankly, I don't think that we should be bothering him. From the sound of it, it would be no understatement, to say that he's seen some serious, well, you know."

"Alright" May sighed. It looks like she wasn't going to be able to get anywhere, not without pushing someone over the edge. When someone has too much in their past, it's not a bad idea to drop something. "Thanks anyways, Tracy."

Once they had gathered back up, Tracy waved them off as the three of them made the few block walk back home. "Well, that was a waste of an afternoon" Max complained.

"I don't want to talk about it, Max" May sighed.

Max seemed to notice her tone, and backed off.

May looked at the sky. "Why do I still hold onto this hope?" she asked herself. "I push it down, I try to get rid of it, but it's always there. So many people saw Ash disappear, but my mind refuse to believe that. I'm hurting myself, and I just can't seem to stop."

"Hey May!" Max said.

"Not now, Max" May mumbled.

"You dropped something though" he said. "And I think that you'll want to grab it."

"Huh?" May asked. Looking behind her, she saw something glinting on the ground. Her breath caught in her chest as she realized that she had almost lost it without thinking about it. Rushing over, she picked up the half of the Terracotta Ribbon that was lying on the ground.

Turning to her brother, she let out a deep breath. "Thank you, Max, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost this."

"Hey, don't mention it" Max chuckled.

"But that's strange" May said. "I could've sworn that I left it at home today, so that I couldn't accidentally drop it from the top of the sky field."

"You probably just grabbed it out of habit" Dawn suggested.

"Yeah, that makes sense" May admitted.

A ring came out of Dawn's pocket. "Whoops, hold on" she said. Pulling out her Poketech, she looked at the screen. "Hey guys, Professor Oak just landed, and he has Pikachu and Glaceon with him."

"Oh wow, they're already here?" May asked. "Let's hurry up and meet them."

"Alright!" Max and Dawn said.

May slipped the Terracotta Ribbon into her pocket and took off down the street alongside the other two. She couldn't wait to see Pikachu and Glaceon. Glaceon hadn't been with her in a while, so she was especially happy there.

However, mere moments after they had passed out of sight, a shadow swooped across the street. A large Pidgeot flew overhead, obviously searching for something. And coming out from behind the bushes, a young man in a dark cloak searched the ground frantically, walking back up the street as he retraced his steps.

From up the street, near where Ash had been staying, Riolu came rushing back down. Ash looked at his partner. "Did I leave it in my room there?" he asked.

"Rio…" Riolu shook his head.

Ash leaned his head back and groaned. "I have to find it, I just have to" he said, almost crazily. "I don't know what I'll do if I can't find it."

Ash he went back to searching everywhere where it could have fallen, unbeknownst to himself, due to his focus, a small amount of aura began to leak from his hands. "I can't go on without it, that's the only thing I have left connected to her!"

* * *

 **Looks like Ash messed up, and May came close to finding him because of it. I'm trying to keep the story from being too drawn out, in case you couldn't tell. I'm hoping that a round of the tournament shouldn't take more than 2 chapters, so that should be a good pacing. I hope you guys enjoyed the plot of this chapter, as we start to get deeper into it. Please, drop a review, and until next time, Sonic the Saiyan, signing off.**


	7. Lost and Found?

**Yes, I'm back, sorry for the long wait here. A couple things have been keeping me waiting. I've had a few new things in my life (mostly new games) that have been distracting me, but I've also been having a bit of writer's block writing this chapter. You know how you need filler content going through the chapters to make it more of a real story over an outline? Yeah, that stuff doesn't come to me easily. Also, since I'm trying to keep the length of these chapters up, then that takes a bit more time.**

 **But enough excuses. Now that I have that out of the way...**

* * *

 _ **Spearpoint Air Field**_

* * *

"Ah, so good to see you all in person again!"

"Hey Gramps, same" Gary said.

"It's great to see you too, Professor" May said.

"Yeah" Dawn and Max said.

Professor Oak stepped down the ramp off the plane, down towards the ground. Gary grabbed his suitcase as he drew near and let him off.

There some scuffling noises inside the plane, and some surprised voices. The person inside the doorway stumbled aside, and two blurry figures darted out, one yellow, one blue. Pikachu and Glaceon hit the ground running, tackling May.

"Ah!" May let out a surprised sound as the two Pokemon fell on her. Glaceon stood by her, licking her cheek, while Pikachu nuzzled her. "Hey guys, ah, yes, I'm glad to see you guys too, of course!"

"Chaaaa" Pikachu squealed happily.

"Ooooon" Glaceon cooed.

"Those two have been excited ever since I told them that we were coming to meet you" Professor Oak chuckled. "They almost wouldn't let them on the flight, because they were so energetic."

"Guys, I told you to behave yourselves when I'm not around" May said to the two.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Glaceon hung her head. May chuckled. "It's okay, you two, I understand" she said. "I can understand being excited."

Both of their heads came back up and they smiled. Professor Oak grinned as well. "Glad to see such a happy reunion. You know, it's been so long since I've been here. So many good memories. I wonder if some of my Pokemon remember it here."

"You caught Pokemon here, Gramps?" Gary asked.

"No, no, I meant I wonder if they remember our travels here" Oak clarified. "Dragonite was still a Dragonair then, you know. He has been with me since times out of mind."

"That's really cool, to think that you've had your own partners for that long" Max said.

"I think I remember Dragonite" May said. "You used him at Yung's Mansion, right, against that Mirage-Mewtwo?"

"That's right" Oak nodded. "The first time he got to battle in a long time as well. But enough about me and my Pokemon. How is the tournament going for you kids?"

"Sis and Gary made it to round two…" Max said. "But I'm out."

"Oh, you were beaten?" Oak asked, surprised.

Max nodded. "Yeah, I was matched up against one heck of a trainer" he said. "He made it seem almost effortless."

"Yeah, who's ever heard of a Butterfree beating up a Gardevoir?" Dawn muttered.

"Hey!" Max protested. "That was no ordinary Butterfree. And he didn't even need to talk to his Pokemon. You know how much that can throw someone off of their game."

"That is true" May said. "Ash, he didn't stand much of a chance against Anabel the first time, because she didn't need to talk either."

"Another telepathic trainer?" Oak asked. "Is he a Psychic?"

May looked down. "We don't know" she said.

"Oh well, no matter" Oak said. "So tell me, where do I go to get setup with a place to stay around here?"

"We got houses from Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center" Max chipped in. "But we were competitors, so we got ours for free."

"I see" Professor Oak said. "Perhaps I could find a spare room at the Pokemon Center, or if it comes down to it, I could probably rent a house for a few days."

"You don't have to do that, Gramps" Gary said. "I have enough cash on me to afford a room for you."

"That's very kind, Gary, but I won't have my grandson having to buy me housing" Oak chuckled. "You're supposed to wait a few more years to do that anyways."

Gary chuckled. Smiling, Oak continued. "Besides, being considered the world's leading authority on Pokemon means that you won't find me broke. I have more than enough for a bed and some food."

"Oh, alright" Gary said.

Oak turned to the others. "So, how has your stay on the island been so far? I've visited Vesryn before, but never been here. What's it like?"

"It's really awesome" Dawn said. "There's so much here. They've got forests and mountains and lakes and tons of shopping areas. It's hard to believe that it's just one island."

"Many islands can be extraordinary" Oak conceded. "I remember that one of the islands in the Decolore Islands is over one hundred miles across. That's the distance from the Indigo Plateau to Pallet Town, believe it or not."

"That's one big island!" Max said.

"Yes, it is" Oak nodded. "The world is a lot bigger than many make it out to be. The 6 main regions that everyone knows of, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos, they are only a small part of our planet. There are dozens of other regions out there, such as Vesryn here. Of course, we don't always get a chance to visit them. Many are locked by terrible seas or turbulent skies. But they are out there, make no mistake."

"...Wow, I've never felt so small…" Dawn said.

"Oh, sorry about that" Oak said. "I can get a bit carried away with my facts, can't I?"

"It's okay Gramps, that's why we love ya'" Gary chuckled.

Professor Oak laughed. "Thank you for that. Now then, shall we go?"

"Yeah" Gary said. "Come on, I'll drive us."

Dawn glared at Gary. "You didn't seriously ship your convertible here, did you?"

"What, no!" Gary protested. "I rented a kart to get us around today, that's all!"

"Hmm, ok" Dawn said.

Gary stepped forward and waved them after him. "Come on, right this way" he said. He grabbed Oak's suitcase and dragged it behind him. "What are you guys waiting for?"

"Coming" May said. She stood up, and Pikachu hopped up on her shoulder. Glaceon stood up right beside her. "Let's go, guys" she said to the two.

"Pika" Pikachu said.

"Glace" Glaceon nodded.

* * *

 _ **Forest**_

* * *

"It's gone…" Ash sighed.

He collapsed, falling back against a tree. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes at any moment. "My last connection to May, it's gone…"

Riolu looked worriedly at his trainer. "Olu?" he asked.

"Just, nothing…" Ash muttered. "It's fine, it doesn't have to do with you. Why don't you go on and play with the others?"

"Lu…" Riolu said.

"I'll be, okay" Ash said, struggling a bit to look optimistic. "Go on, don't worry about me."

"Rio, Riolu Rio" Riolu said, nodding, before he turned to walk away.

Ash sighed and closed his eyes. "Why, how could it have fallen out?" he asked silently. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky. "If you chose me to be here, then why are you putting me through all this? My last connection with the person I loved, gone."

"WHY?" Ash angrily yelled out loud. His Pokemon started and looked at him, but he ignored them. "I've heard this whole thing before" he thought. "The suffering of one for the good of many. But haven't I endured enough suffering? You're an emotional god, you can understand..."

He let out another deep breath. "Of course, you probably can't even hear me. You probably aren't even in this dimension right now. You just dumped everything on me and went on vacation, is that it?"

Ash shook his head. A pounding pain began to thump through his veins, and a spark of blue leapt from his hands. "I really need those gloves…" he muttered. Standing up, he shook it off. "I need to get something done, or I might just lose it."

He looked at his Pokemon. "Guys, I'm going to head out for a while. Behave, alright?"

A chorus of cries answered him. Nodding, Ash turned and walked out of the clearing. It was a natural maze, with hundreds of trees ahead of him. However, he used his sense of Aura to draw him towards a large group of lives, a ways away. He could use the same sense to locate his Pokemon and find his way back.

Within a few minutes, the trees had began to thin out, and he heard the bustling of people once more. He stepped out of the woods, at the top of a small hill, and the resort sprawled out below. Jumping from the shadows, Ash skidded down the hill, hopping out from behind a building and merging with the crowd.

As he walked, he closed his eyes. He could sense the people around him, so he knew he wasn't going to bump into anyone. His sense widened, searching over the whole island, until he found who he was looking for.

"Mewtwo" Ash said telepathically. "How is the search going?"

"...Well" Mewtwo's voice came back through, with a delay. "I can sense Mew nearby."

"Great job" Ash said. "Let's make sure to find him this time. I'd prefer not to take my day off to search the entire island."

"I should locate the furball soon" Mewtwo assured. "I only hope that it is worth it. If we can't bust him out, and he has nothing to tell us, then I will be sorely disappointed."

"You and me both" Ash said. "Allow me to come help. I can sense Mew more clearly than you can, and we'll get the searching done twice as fast."

"And how do you plan to join me?" Mewtwo asked.

"You can Teleport, can't you?" Ash asked. "Or are your powers taxed from your positively _grueling_ search?"

Suddenly, Ash saw nothing but black. When he regained vision, he found himself in what appeared to be a tunnel of some kind. A faint purple light glowed behind him, and he turned around, spotting Mewtwo behind him. A ball of glowing Psychic energy filled his hand, almost as glaring in the darkness as the look Mewtwo was giving him.

"You know, sometimes I think that you've cracked the code to making me do what you want" he growled. "That's a very dangerous game that you're playing. I may just change it up, and you could find yourself in a bad place."

"Good to see you too" Ash said, exasperated. "So, dungeon diving?"

"From what I've picked up, these tunnels are mainly for easy passage around the island for the maintenance and staff" Mewtwo explained. "They also have generators and storage down here. I picked up on Mew's aura somewhere down here, but these tunnels are really looping me around."

"You aren't able to move fast enough to cover ground?" Ash asked.

"There are cameras everywhere, I have to move slow enough to both spot them and avoid them" Mewtwo said. "After all, the whole point of this mission was to remain anonymous, wasn't it?"

"True enough" Ash conceded. Holding his hand out, he focused, until a small ball of energy filled his hands, glowing sky blue. "I suppose that you've been using Psychic to scramble the cameras when they look at you?"

"Your light should be fine" Mewtwo said. "I took a look at the feed when the guards fell asleep. It scrambles whenever the energy appears on camera."

"Alright" Ash said. He turned to the passage behind him. "I can sense Mew's aura in this direction. It might be a good way to start."

"Then I will take the other way" Mewtwo said.

Ash stumbled. "Hey!" he said.

"I don't mean that like I feel as if you are wrong" Mewtwo assured him. "However, the best way to find Mew with speed is to split up. If we go together, then we will only cover as much ground as one of us would alone."

"Oh, right" Ash said. "Alright, let's stay out of sight."

Mewtwo nodded. "Good luck. Tell me if you find Mew."

"Ok" Ash said simply, turning around and walking down the hall.

He rounded the corner, and Mewtwo passed out of sight. He was still in pain, but since he had to focus his mind on locating any possible threats, it distracted him from it. The walls of the corridor were lit dull blue by the ball of aura in his hand. A glare came high off of the wall, off of the polished body of the security camera, but as he drew near, the camera began to spark, as if it were short-circuiting. "Good thing Mewtwo was right" he said. "Tech hates _real_ power, not the fake stuff they run off of."

There were scores of people above him, he could feel it. So many auras, people were excited, people were calm, people were angry, people were sad, he could feel all of it. Nothing specific, but a whirlwind of senses, blurred together. He could feel it up there, just not each individual source.

Coming around another bend, he felt another source, dead ahead. A sense of urgency swept through him. Noticing a dull pipeline running across the ceiling, he extinguished his light and sprung up, grabbing it. Bringing his knees up, he clenched onto the pipe, holding his cape in between his legs and hoping that it didn't fall down.

A dull rumbling sound came from down the hall, and a cart came wheeling around the corner. Lights were lit up on the front, and someone was riding it down. Covered cargo was on top, but no Pokemon, definitely not Mew.

The cart passed underneath him, but Ash waiting until it was completely out of sight before dropping back down. "Thank goodness for dark clothes" he thought. "I'm never going to retire these, they are useful."

Looking around carefully, Ash extended his hand again, and reignited his aura. A faint pain twinged in his arm with the expenditure, but he shrugged it off. "Why do I keep forgetting to ask Mewtwo to grab those gloves for me. After we find Mew, that'll be the first thing I say him."

Ash felt another source approach, but it turned away almost as soon as it began to draw near. Whoever it was must've turned down another hall.

He could feel Mew's aura getting stronger. He was nearby, but, like a maze, there was no path that led towards him. He let out a disappointed sigh. "I wish Lucario had been able to train me. He was able to look ahead for miles with his aura sense" he muttered. "The sort of thing that would be coming way in handy right about now."

Continuing down the hall with his Aura Sphere held high, Ash kept on guard. He felt like a real spy, sneaking around in the dark, but then again, spies were high tech masters of espionage, not medieval-tactic trainers using magic. An ancient spy in a modern world.

Shaking off his almost poetical, yet completely nonsensical thoughts, he got back to the task at hand and began to move faster. "I can't wait to show up Mewtwo if I find Mew first" he thought.

Through the thoughts of one-upping Mewtwo, thought, he felt a deep, empty void behind his almost cheerful thoughts. He may have pushed it to the back of his mind, but the fact remained. His most treasured possession, the ribbon he had held onto ever since the end of his Battle Frontier conquest, and up to this very day, was now lost. And all he could think of it, was that he had lost his very last connection to May, forever. Nothing attached to her remained.

Suddenly, a pain flared, as he walked straight into the wall. He felt a deep cracking sensation, followed by agony and heat, and he knew that he had broken his nose. "Stupid, effing…" Ash swore, a bit louder that he meant to. He felt a steady drip run down his face, and he also knew that he had a good flow of blood going. "That's what I get for not paying attention" he muttered. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the bag that he had been carrying his Sitrus Berries in. All the berries had been left at his campground, but he knew that even small burlap bags could have their uses. He cupped it up under his nose, catching the flow of blood before it slipped off of his face. "Probably shouldn't leave them any DNA, or evidence that anyone was here period" he thought.

Pushing himself away from the wall that had cracked his nose like an egg, Ash turned to face down the hall. As soon as he took a few steps down, he knew he was in for one heck of a time. It was and immediate corner left, that either went straight ahead, or curved back to the left. And considering Mew's aura was somewhere to his right…

"You volunteered to help, Ketchum…" he muttered to himself. "Get moving."

* * *

 _ **Area 2**_

* * *

"So Gary, May, how exactly does this tournament run?" Oak asked.

"It's pretty simple" May said. "All the contestants get notified when and where their next match is the night before it happens. They don't start until at least 10 each morning."

"The groups are also divided" Gary said. "To prevent the arena's from being flooded, and probably to milk some extra cash out of those staying here, but you didn't here that come out of my mouth. Each round is spaced over two days. We were all today, and another group will be going tomorrow. Then we move to round 2, where we either get sorted into the first or second days."

"Oh, and do you know who you will be fighting in advance?" Oak asked.

"They don't send that info" Gary said. "They don't want to make it like a League where you can look up data on your opponent before the match, so you can get a leg up on them. Sure, if you know who you're facing because you bump into them and share stories, learning you two have a match at the exact same time and place, then yeah, but what are the odds of that happening?"

"One in a million" Oak agreed. "I heard that you fought against a powerful trainer, earlier, too. And May, I heard you defeated Morty in the preliminaries yesterday. He's no pushover, you know, you should feel proud."

"A powerful trainer, that's it?" Dawn asked. "Give him more credit, Professor, he defeated Palmer! He's one of the strongest trainers in all of Sinnoh outside of the Elite 4."

"I understand full well, Dawn" Oak said. "Remember, I was there in the Twinleaf Festival. I witnessed him first hand. That's why I am quite impressed."

"Aw, thanks Gramps" Gary said.

"No problem, my boy" Oak said. He then turned to Dawn. "So, Dawn, where exactly are you taking us? You said that you had somewhere you wanted us to go?"

"Yeah" Dawn nodded. "Apparently, there's this really amazing restaurant in the area, and I figured that it would be as good of a place as any to grab some lunch."

"You know, food actually sounds pretty good right now" May admitted. "What's the name of this place?"

"'Excellence'" Dawn replied. Noting the look that they all had on their faces, she chuckled. "Yeah, I know. They're a humble place, huh? But from what I hear, they live up to their name. However, they don't allow Pokemon inside, that's why we had to drop Pikachu and Glaceon off."

'I could eat" Gary said. "Let's get moving."

"That sounds wonderful" Oak agreed.

Dawn chuckled. "Glad to hear that it's unanimous. We should show up in just a couple of minutes here."

The group walked alongside the ocean, hearing the waves lap against the shore, and feeling the sun beating down on their heads. Dawn looked over as they strolled along, and touched May's shoulder. "Hey May, look."

"What?" May asked. Turning her head, she saw that they were walking past Clampearl's Treasure Trove. "Oh, it's there…"

"Are you feeling anything this time?" Dawn asked her friend.

May shook her head. "No, I could barely feel anything when we came here last night. Whatever it was, it's completely gone now."

"What are you two talking about?" Oak piped up.

"When we came by here last night, May felt something weird" Dawn said. "Something that she was magnetized to."

"It was almost like my entire life depended on whatever was in that spot" May muttered. "But there was nothing there. We looked into it, but came up empty, too."

"Sort of like a sinkhole?" Oak asked. "Are you sure that it wasn't a Psychic-Type playing a prank on you?"

May shook her head. "There was a Psychic type there earlier, but it wasn't Psychic. Whatever it was didn't grab me, it compelled me towards it."

"Hmm…" Oak said thoughtfully. "That is quite peculiar. I've never heard of such a phenomenon."

"I didn't figure that you would" May said. "We stayed up all night looking into it, and came up empty."

"Well I am sorry, my dear, I wish I could have been more helpful" Oak apologized.

"It's no problem, Professor" May said. "I kind of doubt that it's anything that can be proven anyways. Maybe I just stumbled."

Dawn looked at her friend. "You know you don't believe that. You told me that you felt that force, whatever it was."

May looked away. "Who knows, maybe I imagined it. Maybe, I just, wanted a reason…"

"Reason?" Dawn asked. Then it occurred to her. "May, you weren't thinking that-"

"Can you blame me?" May asked, cutting her off. "You know very well what's going on right now. I keep feeling, almost feeling his presence."

The group shared hesitant looks. Gary was the one to step forward. "May, I can understand how you feel. But, you're just hurting yourself by thinking this way, you know that."

Dawn looked at her friend. "I, I know that it can't be easy to hear, but we're trying to save you a lot of pain, May."

Max and Oak didn't know what to say, they felt out of place in the situation. The tension Dawn and Gary themselves had to push through alone was palpable.

May remained silent, hiding her gaze underneath her hair. Silence, so intense that you could feel it, hung in the air around them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity. May's voice was heard again. "I, I know…" she said quietly. "I know, but my mind, it just won't give up. It's always going back to think of anything else that could have happened. I didn't see, it, happen myself, so, it just…"

Dawn placed her hand on her friend's shoulder consolingly. "I can understand where you're coming from, May. But we want to make sure, that you don't hurt yourself by letting yourself fully believe it."

May let out a defeated sigh. "And I hope you'll understand if I can't fully forget it either…"

Dawn looked at her friend, and opened her mouth to say something, but thought differently about it, and closed it. Looking away, she noticed something. "Well guys, we're here" she said.

They all looked up, and indeed, just ahead of them, there was a building, with the words "Excellence" fancily drawn onto the billboard-sized sign on top. "Yeah, you were right, pretty humble place" Max chuckled.

Gary strode ahead of them and reached the restaurant first. Grabbing the handle, he held the door open for their gang, bringing them in. Dawn flashed him a smile. "Thanks Gary" she said sweetly.

Gary chuckled. "No problem, glad to be able to help out."

As they stepped inside, it was as if they had stepped into the night. The entire place was dimly lit with shaded windows, allowing for a appealing atmosphere. The place was quite jam-packed with people. "Popular place they have here" Oak commented. "Did you think to call ahead to make sure we had a reservation?"

"Ah!" Dawn exclaimed. "I totally spaced on it!"

Everyone sighed. "That's what happens when you get ahead of yourself" Max muttered.

"What'd you say?" Dawn asked.

"What, it's the truth" Max shrugged. "You're always getting too far ahead of yourself to see clea-YEOW!"

Max hopped up and down on one foot, while Dawn retracted her own. "Watch it" she growled.

"Geez, are you sure that beanie isn't cutting off blood flow to your brain?" Max sniffed. "You're being pretty violently prone as well."

"Why I oughta-" Dawn growled again, before Oak stepped up.

"Now you two, calm down" he said sternly. "Dawn, don't get mad at Max for pointing out your fault. Max, no need to push the issue so hard. The two of you should act your age, got it?"

Max and Dawn pulled away from each other, standing stiffly. "Yes Sir" they said simultaneously.

Oak smiled. "Now then, let's move past that, and come back to the present. I suggest we ask to see how long it would take to get a seat here. Worst case scenario, we wait until later to come back and eat. We can always find somewhere else to grab a bite for now."

Dawn took a deep breath. "Right, yeah." She walked up to the podium and rang the bell. "Hello, is anyone here?"

. . . . .

There was no answer from anyone, no one came at the ring. Frowning, Dawn rang again. "Hello, anyone?"

"Hold on, we're pretty busy right now" a voice rang out from the back.

A figure rushed out from the kitchen and grabbed the podium to stop himself in place, breathing hard. "Hello, welcome to Excellence" he huffed out. "I'm sorry, but we're really full right-" He stopped talking and started looking around at the group. "Huh, Dawn, Professor Oak?"

Dawn's eyes grew wide. "Cilan, is that you?"

A young man, dressed in a simple chef's coat, with green hair and eyes stood before them. He nodded. "Well, I didn't expect to see you here."

Dawn laughed, and Oak smiled. The rest of them looked around in confusion. "So, who is this?" Max asked.

Cilan stumbled and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Cilan, and I'm a Pokemon Connoisseur from Unova. Me and Dawn met there."

"And I met him when he was travelling through Decolore, on the same island where I met Rotom" Oak said.

Dawn looked back at the others. "Cilan was one of Ash's friends travelling with him in Unova" she told them.

Cilan looked at May, Max, and Gary. "Oh, so all of you knew Ash?" he asked.

May looked up. "Yeah, I'm May, and I was with him through Hoenn, Max too" she said, gesturing to her brother.

Gary shrugged. "Yeah, and I was Ash's childhood friend and rival for a while, Gary" he said.

Cilan smiled. "Well, it's so great to meet some of you in person. He told me so many tales about all of you, so it's good to put some faces to them."

"I never really got a chance to hear about you" May apologized. "It's nice to meet you."

Cilan nodded. "It's good to meet you too. I can understand why you haven't heard of me, considering what happened."

May didn't respond. Feeling the tension, Cilan cleared his throat. "So, what brings you guys here?" he asked.

"Well, we were coming here to grab a bite to eat, but since this place was so full, we just thought that we'd set a date here and come back later" Dawn said.

Cilan chuckled. "Nonsense, I can get you guys a seat in here right away."

"Huh?" Gary asked.

"But, we wouldn't want to kick anybody out of their seats" Dawn said.

"No problem, you guys will have your own seats" Cilan said, picking up some menus. "As long as you don't mind having one other person join you."

"You?" Max asked.

"No, it's way too busy in here for me to take a lunch break right now" Cilan laughed nervously. "But we've got another friend waiting for you guys. Follow me!"

"Speaking of which, how are you working here?" Dawn asked. "Did you move to Vesryn or something?"

"Nah, but it's a great side job for me to take while I'm staying here" Cilan said. "I'm competing, of course. Me and my brothers have to defend the honor of the Striaton City Gym, after all."

"That reminds me, how are those two doing?" May asked.

"Me and Chili made it into the first round, but Cress got knocked out in the preliminaries" Cilan explained. "Chili and myself are going up tomorrow for our first round matches, and Cress is going to be cheering us on."

"Wow, glad to hear that two of you made it" Dawn said.

"Am I missing something?" Max asked. "You come from a Gym with 3 Leaders?"

"That's right" Cilan nodded. "Our challengers choose which one of us they wish to battle, depending on their type preferences. We each use our own special Pokemon. Chili uses Simisear, Cress uses Simipour, and I use Simisage."

"Oh, Pansage evolved?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, and a while back too" he said, coming to a stop near the wall. A curtain was stretched across a doorway in front of them. "Here is our private room. There's someone already in there but I have a feeling that she wouldn't mind having you guys in there with her."

Pulling the curtain open, he ushered them in. As the curtain closed behind them, they heard a clattering sound and flailing limbs. "Cilan, I told you to keep everyone out of here!" a peeved voice came out of the corner.

Cilan dropped the menus as he flinched from the intensity of the voice. "I don't think that you'll mind who I have here with us" he said.

A large head of purple hair came up from around the pillar separating the two corner seats in the private room. "Huh?" she asked. Coming into view, a young girl, dark skinned, and with a huge bush of purple hair. "Dawn, is that you?"

"Iris?" Dawn asked.

Standing in the corner of the room, the young girl was indeed Iris. "Hey, it's good to see you" she said cheerfully, walking forward. She turned to Cilan. "How come you didn't tell me that Dawn was here?" she asked.

Cilan raised his hands. "You didn't really give me a chance" he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, good point" Iris said. "It's great to see you again, Dawn."

"It's good to see you too" Dawn said. "And I'd better introduce you to my friends also. Iris, meet May, Max, and Gary."

"I have to get back to it…" Cilan muttered, leaving and shutting the curtain behind him.

"Oh, I've heard of you all!" Iris said. "Yeah, Ash told me and Cilan about you all! Gary, you're training to be a professor, and May, you're a really high-tier coordinator, right?"

"Well, I don't know about high-tier…" May said bashfully.

"Oh, quit being so down on yourself" Dawn chuckled. "You're really great. And you've been getting extremely strong too."

"And I've also been at it a lot longer than you, yet you beat me in the Wallace Cup" May shrugged.

"Still don't know how that happened" Dawn admitted.

"So, what are you training to be, Iris?" Gary asked.

"I'm actually on the road to be a Dragon Master" Iris said. "Dragons have had a ton of influence on my life, so I guess it was inevitable."

"Oh, what Dragons do you have?" Max asked.

"I have three so far" Iris said. "Dragons take a lot of time to raise, so you can't try to raise a ton of them at once. I have an Axew, Dragonite, Kingdra, and Gabite right now, but they aren't my only partners. Emolga and Excadrill are valuable friends to me as well."

Gary let out a low whistle. "Dang, that's quite a team you've got there, you know?"

Iris shrugged. "I wasn't going for them for just power and coverage options. They've all been supporting me for a long time now. Kingdra has only been with me for about a year, but Axew and Excadrill have been with me since the beginning."

"Isn't Axew a bit weak for a species standard though?" Max asked, shifting his glasses. "Wouldn't it be a much more powerful Pokemon if you evolved it into a Fraxure, or a Haxorus?"

Iris shook her head. "Axew is extremely powerful, without evolving" she said. "In fact, he hasn't lost a battle in over a year now, and he's fought some seriously tough opponents."

"Like who?" Max asked.

"Well, it actually single-handedly fought off two Haxorus at once" Iris said with a superior tone. "And another time, it took on someone's Mega-Evolved Salamence, even if it had been weakened slightly."

Max's jaw dropped, and Gary let out a low whistle. "Those are some serious matches for a little Axew to face."

Dawn struck a thinking pose. "Axew must have learned some powerful new moves then. Last time we met, it could only use Scratch, Dragon Rage, and barely use Giga Impact."

"Several new moves, in fact" Iris said. "And some serious power raising as well."

Cilan's head came poking back through the curtain. "Hey guys, I can take your order right now if you want."

"What?" May asked. "Oh, we haven't really looked yet."

"Yeah, we've been catching up with Iris" Dawn said.

"Well I can't blame you for wanting to learn some more about her" Cilan chuckled.

"Cilan!" Iris shouted reproachfully.

"What?" Gary asked. "What's so wrong with wanting to know more about one of Ash's pals?"

"That's not what he meant" Iris growled, giving Cilan a bone-chilling stare.

Sweat began beading on Cilan's forehead. "I'll be back to take your guys' orders" he said hurriedly before leaving again.

Dawn looked at Iris with a confused look. "What was all of that about?" she asked.

Iris raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You honestly don't know?" she wondered.

"Is something wrong here?" Max asked.

Strangely, Iris chuckled lightly. "You know, it's actually kind of a welcome relief to hear that."

"Don't you hate it when people speak so cryptically?" Gary muttered to Dawn.

"I heard that" Iris fumed. "Come on, if you were in my position, you take all the cryptic opportunities for yourself that you can. I have almost no privacy nowadays."

"Why's that?" Dawn asked. She gasped. "You aren't on the run or anything, are you?"

Iris shook her head, then looked around. "Promise not to do anything to invade my privacy, in any way, if I tell you?"

"YES!" Max shouted. Everyone stared at him, forcing him to look straight down out of embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm just sick of all the riddles."

"Tell me about it" Iris said. "Let me tell you, at first, it seemed great, but as time went on, well, I see why Diantha is always stressed and busy. Being a Champion is no walk in the park."

* * *

 _ **Tunnels**_

* * *

"Why are there so many damn humans down here?" Mewtwo muttered after having to cloak himself for the fifth time. The man walked out of sight around the corner, and Mewtwo dropped his cloaking field. "This is a maintenance tunnel, not a track field…"

Mewtwo let another psychic orb float in his hand, illuminating his surroundings. "Now, where is puffball?" he wondered. "He is near, that much I am sure of." Closing his eyes, he focused, and got a much stronger signal on his right. Turning, he noted a hallway with three doors along it, and one at the very end. "I will assume for now that he is down this way."

Mewtwo floated down the corridor, keeping alert in case of any approaching beings, but he felt none, besides the one he was tracking. Peering in the various doors, he noted storage compartments, generators, and computers, but only once he reached to final room did he see something of interest.

Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue, and the lock jiggled. Scrunching his eyes with focus, the door swung open, revealing the insides.

Scattered around the room, there was a lot. Master Balls, stacks of money, but none of that was of any importance. The center of the room was what he was focused on.

A large metal cage was laid in the center, and a sleeping form within, glowing purple from the light Mewtwo was emitting. A large red and black Pokemon was slumbering within.

"Wake up, you Snorlax" Mewtwo mentally shouted into the head of the Pokemon.

Immediately, the Pokemon jumped to its feet, snarling. It whipped around, but when it saw Mewtwo, its face went passive. "So, you've found me" the voice came through.

Mewtwo nodded curtly. "Yes, we've been searching for you since we arrived here, isn't that obvious?"

"Don't take that superior tone with me, Mewtwo" Mew growled. "Let me guess, you either came here under your own steam, scared for your own skin more than anything, or you let a 'lowly human' talk and trick you into coming. Yes, I talked to Ash" he said, noting the look in Mewtwo's eyes. "So, if you're here, could break the bars or something and get me out?"

Mewtwo shook his head. "No can do, Mew" he said. "If we were to break you out now, we would be considered thieves. It would be much harder for either me or the Chosen One to undergo our duties as guardians if we were the target of a manhunt."

"...Hate to say it, but that's a good point" Mew admitted. "Do you think that he can win the tournament to set me free?"

"He has a good chance" Mewtwo said. "His partners are loyal, and the harsh conditions of his life have solidified the power of them. Also, he has me as backup in case he finds himself in a particularly difficult battle."

"You would battle for him?" Mew asked.

"If it means saving our shared life-force and the thousands of lives within your tree, then yes" Mewtwo said. "Besides, he may need it. He has met a Trainer here who utilizes many of our brethren of Legendary Pokemon. He is known to have a Darkrai and Latios at the very least, to the Chosen One."

"A Darkrai, huh?" Mew wondered. "Be careful, you remember what happened that time you travelled to New Moon Island."

"No need to remind me" Mewtwo snarled. "Besides, we have an ace up our sleeves. We brought the stones and gauntlet that will allow me access to my more powerful forms, should they be required."

"I see that you've been planning this out quite strategically" Mew noted. "However, one thing bothers me."

"And what would that be?" Mewtwo asked.

"If you have been thinking this out so much, then why come find me at all, if you can't take me back?" Mew asked.

"Ah, yes" Mewtwo said. "We were wondering if you could have any information to share with us. Being the prize of the tournament, surely you've overheard some of their plans."

Mew narrowed its eyes. "You know, I thought that you might have known, coming down here."

"Known of what?" Mewtwo asked.

Mew looked around anxiously. "Let's just say, there are a few people who don't just see me as a Zoroark right now."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "There are those who recognize you as a Mew. That is impossible."

"Nothings impossible when dealing with crooks" Mew muttered.

"Great, an organization noticed you" Mewtwo muttered. "Which one. Is it native to this region."

Mew shot Mewtwo a look. "I would think that you would know just who would recognize a Pokemon from Kanto."

Mewtwo's eyes now widened. "Don't tell me that that Team Rocket is here?"

Mew nodded. "I can only assume that they have had surveillance on me. They must have seen me in the trees before I transformed into a Zoroark."

"Not good news" Mewtwo muttered. "Do they plan to steal you, or perhaps fake their way into the tournament?"

"I would assume the former" Mew said. "There has been an unnaturally high amount of people down in these halls as of late. I can only assume that many of them are Rockets, scouting the area."

"We can't have them catch you" Mewtwo noted. "They may try to clone you again, and we don't know if they could keep another Mewtwo under control or not."

"You can't very well protect the cage until the whole thing is over either" Mew noted. "As you can see, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place here."

"Not entirely" Mewtwo said. "Could you bust out of the cage on your own?"

"No such luck" Mew said. "Whatever this cage is made of, utilizes the same technology as their Pokeballs. My attacks have no effect coming from the inside. I've tried everything, from Heat Wave to Hydro Pump to try and distort the bars, to Explosion to knock this thing out. That was painful…"

"Allow me to try something" Mewtwo said. Walking around, behind the cage, Mewtwo stuck his hand out, and let loose a small Ice Beam. When it struck the bars, frost formed on top. "Interesting, it would appear that moves work on the outside though."

"How will that help, if you can't smuggle me out of here?" Mew asked.

"How about we give you a failsafe, in case any Rockets come looking for you" Mewtwo said. Stretching his arm out, a long blade of energy popped out. A quick flash with his Psycho Cut, and two of the bars fell out. Catching them, Mewtwo propped them back into place, so that the cage looked undisturbed. "Here, this should allow you to bust out if anyone tries to take the cage. I assume that you are smart enough to be able to fight off some Pokemon and not let technology catch you again?"

"No need to fret about me" Mew said.

Mewtwo dashed back over in front of the cage. "Anything besides Team Rocket that we should be informed of?"

Mew shook his head. "Just make sure you win. If something happens to me, well, you know what happens."

Mewtwo chuckled. "Someone has a high opinion of themselves."

"It comes from not being a clone" Mew shot back.

Mewtwo's laugh abruptly stopped, and a harsh glare overtook his face. "Shall I seal back up those bars and allow the Rockets to take you?"

"But you wouldn't, because if I go, you go, and you know that" Mew said smugly.

Mewtwo fumed. "I'm starting to _loathe_ both you and the Chosen One, now" he snarled. Mewtwo turned and opened the door.

"Mewtwo…" Mew said.

Mewtwo turned back around before he closed the door. "What is it?" he asked.

Mew looked him straight in the eyes. "Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Excellence (1 Hour Later)**_

* * *

"I still can't believe that you're the Champion" Max said.

"I didn't even know that was your goal!" Dawn exclaimed. "What happened to being a Dragon Master?"

"The League Challenge can be a big step for a Dragon Master also" Iris said. "I mean, look at Lance. He's a League Champion, and a Dragon Master."

"Wow…" Gary said. "Color me impressed. What are you, fifteen?"

"Sixteen" Iris said.

"That is still incredibly young, even just for an Elite, much less a Champion" Oak commented. "I hope that you realize the magnitude of your accomplishment."

"Yeah, I do…" Iris muttered. "Sadly, so does 90% of the rest of the world. I have hardly gotten a break to even sleep every day. People mob me, asking for autographs, tips, my secret, and of course-"

"Challenges?" May asked.

"Oh Arceus, I have about a hundred challengers a day" Iris sighed. "It was a godsend when Cilan was able to get me a private room here so that I could just take a break. I'm just glad he isn't treating me any differently now that I am what I am."

"Is it really that bad, reaching your dreams?" May asked.

Iris looked at May. "You're training to be a Top Coordinator, right? The League may be a bit bigger than Contests, but yeah, if you win a Grand Festival, you'd better be prepared for the publicity. It's enough to run anyone into the ground."

May's eyes widened. "That bad, huh."

Iris nodded. "No jokes here, I wouldn't dare joke about this. It's not funny from any angle."

"Geez, it doesn't sound like it either" Dawn said.

May pushed away her soup, not feeling to good all of a sudden. "Wow, even when you finally achieve what you've been wanting to, it doesn't get any easier" she realized. She reached into her pocket, and felt for that comforting sensation of the ribbon in her hand. "Does that mean, that it won't get any better, once I do this for Ash?" she thought.

"Are you alright, May?" Iris asked.

"Huh?" May asked. She realized that her eyes stung a bit, she had been ready to cry. Blinking hard, she put on a false smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Dawn looked at her Poketch. "Hey guys, it's getting pretty late here. It's almost 5, Pikachu and Glaceon have been alone for a long time. I think that we should be getting back now."

"What, it's already 5?" Iris asked. "Shoot, Axew will be getting lonely too. I guess it's time for all of us to go."

"Yeah, we'd better hurry" Gary said. "Arcanine can carry a few of us, but not all of us."

"Hey, don't worry about it" Iris said. "I can have Dragonite fly us there."

"Geez, I can only imagine how powerful your Dragonite is" Max said. "I don't want to sound like just another one of those guys, but it would be really awesome if you could battle me sometime, Iris."

"Hey, that's no problem" Iris chuckled. "It only gets on my nerves when it's hundreds of strangers per day asking me. I'll be happy to have a match with a friend."

"Really?" Max asked. "Awesome!"

Iris looked towards the curtain. "I wish we could say goodbye to Cilan, but considering how packed the restaurant is, I doubt that he'd even hear us."

"Yeah, that's true enough" May said. "So what, do you slip out of the back to avoid attention?"

"Actually, yeah" Iris laughed. "There's an exit in the corner here. Would you all care to join me?"

"Why not?" Dawn asked.

Smiling Iris jumped up and bolted for the back, pulling out a Pokeball as she ran. The others were right behind her, walking out the door as it flew open. Once they were out back, Iris threw the Pokeball high into the air. "Dragonite, come on out!" she said.

The ball burst open, and a stream of light hit the ground like a bolt of lightning, condensing and materializing, into a towering shape. The light faded, and an orange figure took form. "RAA!" Dragonite cried out in a gruff voice.

Max flinched and backed up. "Why does your Dragonite look, _really_ angry?" he asked.

"Oh, he's just trying to act like a tough guy" Iris said. "He's always scowling, but deep down, he's a sweetheart."

"Gah!" Dragonite huffed, turning away.

Dawn chuckled. "Good to see that you haven't changed a bit, Dragonite."

Gay pulled out his Pokeball. "I'm sure Dragonite is strong, but he's not quite big enough to carry the six of us. I'll take care of some of the burden. Arcanine, let's go!"

Gary's ball popped open in his hands, and the Legendary Pokemon materialized on the ground beside Dragonite. "Arroo!" Arcanine cried.

"Ra" Dragonite growled, looking down at Arcanine.

"Caroo!" Arcanine barked back.

"Behave you two" Gary and Iris said simultaneously.

Gary looked back. "So, who wants to go on Arcanine with me?" he asked. "I think he can take two of us."

"Aro" Arcanine barked at Gary.

"Oh, sorry, three of us" Gary corrected himself. Arcanine grinned, although it came off more like baring his teeth.

"I'm not too good with heights" Dawn said.

"And I'm not sure this old back could handle being whipped around through the sky" Oak chuckled.

"Sweet! Sis, that means that we get to ride on Dragonite" Max said.

"What?" May asked.

"Don't worry, it's not as easy to fall off as it looks" Iris said. "Besides, Dragonite can have you home in a minute, much less if I have him use Extremespeed."

"Arcanine can have us there in ten seconds if we use that also" Gary countered.

"Want to have a little race then?" Iris asked. "Loser pays the winner 500 Poke?"

"You are SO on" Gary said, hopping onto Arcanine's back. "Come on you two" he waved at Oak and Dawn.

Dawn and Oak also climbed onto Arcanine's back, behind Gary. Iris turned to Dragonite. "Want to show him how it's done?"

"Grah!" Dragonite cried out, energetic now.

Iris turned and smirked at Gary. "Dragonite's all fired up now. I hope that you're ready to pay!"

Dawn leaned towards Iris. "I wouldn't underestimate Gary's Arcanine if I were you. You haven't seen this thing in action yet."

"And you probably don't remember what Dragonite was capable of when you last saw it" Iris said confidently. "We've only improved since then, in every way."

Dragonite kneeled down, and Iris ran up and jumped on his back. She waved at May and Max. "You guys coming, or what?" she asked.

Without hesitating, both of them stepped forward and clambered on, right behind Iris. "We're ready when you are" May said.

"Let's do this!" Max said excitedly.

Iris looked over to Gary. "Count of three?"

Gary nodded. "One…"

"Two…" Iris said, gripping Dragonite tightly.

"Three!" Both of them shouted simultaneously. "Extremespeed!"

In an instant, reality became a blur for all six of them. May, Max, and Iris became glued to Dragonite's back, while Gary, Dawn, and Oak felt as if their faces were being peeled off by the blitzing speed they were moving at.

"Going up!" Iris shouted as Dragonite soared skyward. They began to slow down as they passed above the cloud layer, the sun beating down on them with no barrier. "Going down!" Iris shouted as Dragonite dived, moving at, if possible, even higher speeds that they had before. Dragonite touched down just in front of their house, barely two seconds before Arcanine came whirling into view, screeching to a halt before them.

"Darn…" Gary muttered as he hopped off. "Shouldn't of raced against someone who can go as the Murkrow flies, should've thought that out."

"Still, you did agree to it" Iris said smugly, hopping down. "Come on, cough it up."

"Oh, alright" Gary said, pulling a few bills out of his pocket and walking over. "Here you go, 500 Poke, just like I promised."

"Thank you" Iris said. "Yeah, I was a bit curious about why you took it too. Yeah, your Arcanine is fast, but it can't cut over all the houses and hills like Dragonite can."

"Grao!" Dragonite growled triumphantly.

"Coo…" Arcanine growled, with his head hung.

"Hey, Arcanine, you did your absolute best" Gary consoled his Pokemon. "You're getting really fast, even she saw that."

May and Max stumbled off of Dragonite. "That, was the scariest, the scariest ten seconds of my life" May mumbled as the ground spun beneath her.

"Awesome, yet at the same time, so _not_ awesome" Max agreed as he buckled to his hands and knees.

Dawn and Oak hopped down from Arcanine, a bit wobbly, but otherwise fine. "We may have had it easier than you guys" Dawn admitted. "At least we didn't get jetlag."

"Ugh, you're telling me" May moaned as she too collapsed on the ground.

"Heh heh, sorry about that guys" Iris said. "Dragonite's speed takes some getting used to."

"You can get used to that?" Max asked, shocked.

Everyone busted up laughed, except Max and May, who were too dizzy to join in. Oak chuckled at the two. "Well, I think that it is about time that I leave you kids alone. After all, I need to schedule myself a room at the Center anyways."

"Hey, no problem Gramps" Gary said. "Why don't you just stay here with us?"

"I would hate to impose" Oak dismissed. "Besides, with four people, you can't have any bed space. I couldn't sleep on a couch, and I would hate to boot you from one of your beds to make you sleep on one."

"Well if you're going to be so adamant about it…" Gary shrugged. "Go ahead and take Arcanine, he can carry you to the Pokemon Center."

"No need to worry about that either" Oak chuckled. "I'm very grateful for you worrying about me, but there is no need for you to take care of me here. _My_ Dragonite would be more than happy to get some exercise and carry me there."

"Oh, you have a Dragonite as well, Professor?" Iris asked.

Oak nodded. "Yes, he is one of my oldest partners."

"And a really faithful one too" May said. "I remember when he wouldn't give up shielding you from that Mirage Mewtwo."

"Yes, me and him go way back" Oak said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a minimized ball. "It was very good to see you all again. Tell me whenever any of you have a match scheduled, and I will do my best to make it."

"I'd better be heading back too, before someone notices me" Iris said sheepishly. "If you guys want to come see me, I'm staying in house 729. Just, don't let that become public knowledge."

"We would never" Dawn assured. "And hey, good luck in your next match."

"Thanks Dawn" Iris said. She turned around. "And you two…" she said to May and Gary. "Good luck to you as well."

"Thanks, Iris" Gary said. "And if we get matched up, just know, I'm not going easy on you, you hear?"

"I hate anyone who goes easy on me because they know me" Iris said. "Do just what you said, and we'll be fine."

"I won't hold back either" May said.

Iris nodded. "Alright guys, take care. Let's go, Dragonite!"

"Groh!" Dragonite growled as Iris hopped on.

"Let's fly!" she said.

"Grooooo!" Dragonite cried, spreading his wings wide, and rocketing into the air. Within seconds, a hole had been pierced, straight through the clouds, and the large orange shape vanished within.

"Well then, she sure knows how to make a dramatic exit, eh?" Oak asked. "I suppose that it is time for my own leave as well." He clicked the minimized ball in his hand and enlarged it. "Dragonite, my friend, come on out."

The two halves separated, and the beam of light struck the ground, releasing Dragonite. "Groh!" Dragonite yawned, looking down at them.

Oak smiled. "Dragonite, would you be up for a flight?"

"Rah" Dragonite nodded, kneeling down near Professor Oak.

Oak turned around and smiled at the group. "I will see you all soon, alright?"

"Alright Professor, take care" Dawn said.

"Hey, have a good night, Gramps" Gary waved.

"It was great seeing you again, Professor" Max said.

"It was good seeing you too, Max" Oak said. "And May, please, take care, alright?"

May nodded. "Yes, Professor, I will" she assured him.

Smiling back at them, Oak turned around and climbed onto Dragonite's back. "Dragonite, let's head south" he said.

"Groh!" Dragonite cried. Spreading his wings, he took off into the air, soaring into the distance, towards the beach.

Dawn looked at her friends. "Well guys, let's head in. I'm sure Pikachu and Glaceon must be ready for some company."

"Yeah, I'm sure too" May said. "Come on, let's give them some."

Gary dug into his pocket and pulled out a key. Walking forward, he inserted it into the door, and threw it open. "Let's go. I'm ready to sit down for the night."

They all walked into the house. May began looking around. "Where did they go off to?" she wondered.

"Maybe they're hanging out upstairs" Max suggested.

"That's probably it" May realized. "You guys get settled down here, I'll go grab those two and be right back."

"Alright, Sis" Max said, walking out into the living room and grabbing the remote.

May stepped up the stairs, bracing herself on the railing, still feeling slightly dizzy from the speedy Dragonite ride, until she reached the top of the stairs. Stepping down the hall, she peered into each doorway. Coming to the end of her hall, and her room, she looked inside, and sure enough, there the two of them were.

Smiling, May opened the door quietly. The two were curled up together on the bed, asleep, Pikachu on his side, Glaceon lying down and nuzzling up against the sleeping mouse. "Those two are so cute when they're asleep" she thought.

She tiptoed into the room, careful not to disturb the sleeping duo. Slipping her bag off, she set it down on the desk, and then walked over to the bed. "Hey guys, let's wake up" she said softly, placing her hand gently on Glaceon.

Glaceon and Pikachu slowly cracked their eyes open, looking up at May blearily. "Chaaaaaaaa…" Pikachu yawned.

"Eeeeeoooo..." Glaceon let out her own yawn.

May smiled. "Hi there, you two, did you have a good nap?" she asked.

Pikachu and Glaceon both stood up and smiled up at May. Smiling back, May reached down and patted both of them on their heads. "Glad to hear it" she said. "You know, everyone's back. Why don't you head downstairs and say hi?"

"Pike/Glace" the two said together, hopping down off of the bed. They began walking out the door, before Pikachu stopped in his tracks. "Bika?" Pikachu asked, sniffing the air.

"Glace?" Glaceon asked.

Pikachu kept sniffing the air. "Pika? Pikachu Pi?"

"Hey guys" a voice came from a little ways down the hall. Glaceon turned and saw Dawn coming. Pikachu, however, wasn't distracted, and turned back towards the room.

Inside the bedroom, May dug into her pocket and pulled the small object she was so attached to out. Smiling sadly down at the half of the Terracotta Ribbon, she let out a sigh. "Ash never wanted anyone to feel bad over him" she remembered Gary said. "That's right, I can't torture myself over him, it's not what he would have wanted."

Sitting down on the bed, she looked at the small piece in her hand. "You know, I almost lost this thing earlier" she said. "I don't even know how distraught I'd be if I had. I'd better keep it safe."

Standing up, May took a step forward and kneeled down next to her bedside table, where she stored her ribbon. "You, aren't going to get away from me again. This time, I'm keeping track of you" she said. She pulled the drawer open and dropped the piece in. Just as she closed the drawer up, she froze.

Her eyes grew wide. "What?" she asked. Slowly, she looked back at the drawer. Her hand still on the handle, she slowly pulled it open again. As the contents within came into view, a loud shriek came out of her room.

The door flew open, and Dawn, Pikachu, and Glaceon bolted in. "May, what happened?!" Dawn exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"D-D-D-Dawn?" May asked. "L-l-look…"

Dawn looked frightened now. "What happened May?" she asked as she walked over.

Shaking, May lifted her hand and pointed into the drawer. "L-look" she stuttered.

Dawn stood beside May and peered into the drawer. For a second, she just stared puzzled. Then, she realized, and her eyes grew wide. "May, how did you…"

May grabbed Dawn by the shoulders, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Dawn, my ribbon, was here, all day. Max pointed out the other ribbon when we left Tracey and Misty's house."

"But, but that would mean, that the other half, the one that you found out there-" Dawn gasped.

"Pika Bi!" Pikachu cried, scrambling up onto the drawer and looking in, sniffing deeply again. Reaching in, Pikachu grabbed the half of the ribbon that had just been put in there, and sniffed again.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu exclaimed.

May gasped. "Ash's scent is on it?" she asked.

"Pikapi, Pika Pikachupi" Pikachu cried, nodding.

Dawn gasped. "May, if Ash's scent is still on that piece…"

May took a deep breath. "I promised, I promised not to give myself false hope, Dawn. But, this, this isn't false anymore."

Dawn looked at her friend. "May, if this really is Ash's half, and the scent is still fresh enough for Pikachu to smell, that means…"

"Ash…" May said. "He, he's really, he's really here!"

* * *

 **Muahahahahahaha! Cliffhanger! Yeah, I know, I'm evil. It took me this long to update, and I leave you with THIS. But don't you dare tell me that you didn't enjoy the buildup. Anyways, again, sorry for taking so long to update. I've had some other stuff, and I have trouble with filler content, and actually, since I did two consecutive chapters for my other story, I was in the mode for that one, which made this all the more difficult.**

 **But enough of that. Throughout the entire tournament so far, May has been fighting down her hope of Ash being alive, and just as it seems that she'll be able to bury the hatchet, once and for all, well, you saw what happened. And yes, Iris being Champion is based off of the games. But come on, you didn't see this coming when the young, tardy, female Dragon Master missing Champion was mentioned but at the Champion's Lunch? Anyways. I'll try to push out one more update before my summer ends, but I can't guarantee it. I hope I got you all to squeal like little girls when you saw this update go through your inbox (joking) and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are my bread and butter, so please, drop one in, and again, don't be afraid to contact me directly to ask me something. Other than that, I suppose that I will see you all next time. Have a good night (I stayed up late (3 AM) to push this through, hope you had a good time with it) and you will hear from me again soon enough. Peace!**


	8. Determination

**Well, it's not often that a chapter of my own weaving receives such a positive response. With something like that, how could I hold off starting the next one for very long? Anyways, we're back, baby. However, don't expect a meetup this chapter. I'm not going to draw this out, but I won't rush things either, got it? Alright, now that we are done with that, shall we get going?**

* * *

 _ **Tunnels**_

* * *

An eerie blue light filled the hall, providing a highlight to the darkness that somehow made things even more dreary than the pitch black. However, that didn't make the change any less startling when the light went out.

Ash stumbled forward as there was a sudden burst of light behind him. The aura that he had cupped in his hands went out like a candle. Whirling around, he came face to face with a smirking Mewtwo.

"Looks like I win" Mewtwo bragged.

"The prize for the most annoying being of the year, wait, no, decade?" Ash asked.

"As if you could topple someone off of the throne of victory so easily" Mewtwo scoffed. "I've located Mew, and I talked with him."

"What, you did?" Ash asked. "Well what did he say?"

"Much" Mewtwo said. "I think it best to wait until we return though, the longer we hang out in these tunnels, the more chance we have of being located."

"Very well then" Ash conceded. "Care to bring us back?"

"I would, however, I do not know the location where you set up camp" Mewtwo said.

"It should be easy enough" Ash said exasperatedly. "Riolu is at camp, and he has the strongest aura of almost any being on the island, save those that are down here in these tunnels."

"Fair enough" Mewtwo admitted. Looking around, he aimed himself in a particular direction. "There" he said.

Ash felt space warp around him as a green light overtook him. He felt as if he were blinded after the darkness of the caverns beneath the island. When he felt his feet regain a place on solid ground, he had to blink several times before he could see again.

It was late afternoon, almost dusk. The sun cast dark orange light on the ground, with wavy shadows stretching across the clearing. Most of his Pokemon were resting. Butterfree and Pidgeot were nested up in the trees, while Volcarona clung to the side of the trunk of the same tree. His Lapras and the baby one hovered in the water. Even asleep, Rotom, hovered in the air, sparking sporadically. Only Riolu and Kirlia were still up, and had gotten up when Ash and Mewtwo touched down.

Mewtwo flinched slightly as Ash's face came to light. "Did you get in a boxing match with an Ursaring or something?"

Dried blood was caked all around the middle of Ash's face. "No, I just broke my nose on a wall" he said. "So, what exactly did you find out? Did Mew have any information?"

"Only one piece worth anything" Mewtwo sighed. "However, it is quite disturbing to find out."

"...Are you going to keep being cryptic, or are you going to tell me?" Ash asked.

"Bad news, we aren't the only ones trying to grab Mew" Mewtwo said. "Albeit for different reasons."

"Great, just peachy" Ash sighed. "Who is it? Is it Hunter J trying to poach a Legendary again?"

"Not quite, those bastards at Team Rocket are here" Mewtwo said. "According to Mew, there are a ton of them littered across the island."

"What?" Ash asked. "How could they be here? How in the distortion would they even _know_ he was here?"

"They've always had a lot of machines" Mewtwo said. "It's possible that they were scoping out Rota. Mew was already rumored to be there."

"Damn, well this puts some tension into things" Ash grumbled. "Did Mew have any idea how they're planning to nab him?"

"Basic thievery, as always" Mewtwo said. "They'd be fools not to have a few agents competing, but with the volume of powerful trainers here, it's doubtful that they'd even have made it through the first round."

"Still, I've learned never to underestimate those crooks" Ash muttered. "Don't you remember that time with the Moltres at Mt. Silver. I still have the scorch marks."

"I can't stand them" Mewtwo agreed. "If I knew how we could find them, you could be sure that I would eliminate every one of them on the island, here and now."

"You and me both" Ash said. "Cut them out of the picture so we can just breeze on through. But, I guess it's not going to be that easy." Flopping down onto the ground, he sighed. "It never is."

"I swear, the next time we get a break, it's time for me to choose a mission" Mewtwo demanded. "And I'll tell you what it will consist of. Us, their headquarters, and one special Hyper Beam."

Ash chuckled. "Sounds like a plan. But for now, let's just thrash any of them unfortunate to come across us."

Mewtwo smirked. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

 _ **House 394**_

* * *

"He's, he's really here…"

The two halves of the medals were clenched extremely tight in May's hands. Pikachu had in indescribable expression on his face, nearly frozen in shock. Dawn too was shocked beyond belief, and Glaceon look worriedly between everyone.

"I, I…" May tried to say something, but words failed her, as did her knees. May buckled, kneeling on the ground, and hitting the floor with a loud thump.

"Gla?" Glaceon asked, concerned, walking up to May and sitting by her side.

There was a glittering in the light, as something came from behind May's hair, falling down and patterning the floor wet.

"M-May?" Dawn asked. "What's wrong?"

May looked at her friend, her eyes sparkling with tears. However, she wore a smile on her face despite the tears. "Ash, he's alive" she said.

Pounding footsteps were heard out in the hall, before Max and Gary both appeared in the doorway. "Are you guys ok?" Gary asked. "What was that loud noise?"

Max squeezed around Gary and looked at May. "Sis, is everything ok? Why are you on the floor like that."

Dawn looked at the two. "G-guys, you may, you may want to brace yourselves."

"What?" Max asked.

"Alright, who died?" Gary asked.

"You, you're not, far off" May said shakily. She got to her feet as if one of her shins were broken, shakily and stumbling around. "Guys…" she said, as she felt backwards onto the bed. She held out her hands, opening them upwards.

Max and Gary stepped forward to get a closer look. Max's eyes grew wide. "But, that's…"

"Your ribbon?" Gary asked. Then he noticed something. "Wait, you only had one half of it before! Where'd you get the other one?"

"It's the one, that you, Max, pointed out to me" May said. "Out, in the street."

"But wait" Max said. "If that one wasn't yours, then where'd it come from?"

"I…" May tried to say, but words were becoming difficult.

"May, it's alright" Dawn said soothingly. "I'll tell them, you must still be in shock."

A quick look of thanks flashed from May's eyes as she took a deep breath, her hands closing tightly around the ribbon halves once more. She brought her head down and rested it on her hands.

Dawn looked at Gary and Max. "Guys, when May thought that she had left her ribbon here earlier, she wasn't wrong. Seeing the half that was on the ground earlier, she just assumed that it was hers, that she had grabbed it out of habit. But, when we got back here, she went to put it in her drawer for safekeeping, but her half was still in there."

"That's not all. When I came in with Pikachu and Glaceon, Pikachu smelled something. He sniffed the ribbon that we'd found earlier, and reacted really strongly to it." She looked between the two. "He recognized a scent on it."

Both of them grew wide-eyed. "But how's that possible?" Max asked. "Even if it somehow landed here, surely the smell would have faded after three years."

"Max…" Dawn said. "I think you know exactly how it's possible."

"Ash?" Gary asked. "He, he could really be here, not just alive, but on this very island?"

"We found his ribbon half, with his scent still on it, fresh" Dawn said.

"Hmm…" Max said thoughtfully. "I really hope that, for once, it's the easy reason."

"What do you mean by that, Max?" Dawn asked.

"With how many Legendary Pokemon we encounter?" Max asked. "I really hope it's Ash being here, and not some crazy Celebi or Dialga time-warp deal that sent it here."

"Don't think like that, even for a moment, Max" Gary said. "I know you guys have had your fair share of adventures, but that wouldn't happen. It just wouldn't."

"Yeah, come on" Dawn said. "That's not the kind of thing you say."

"I'm sorry…" Max said. "Just, I always have the little voice in my head that goes by the pattern of our luck in the past…"

Dawn turned back to May. "May, I…" she began to say, then stopped.

May's breathing was slow and light. Her eyes were behind her hands, but she could tell they were closed. She hadn't reacted at all.

"Hmm?" Max asked, looking at his sister. "She's asleep?" he asked quietly. "How could she sleep after that? Even I feel like I'll never be able to sleep again right now!"

"She probably got overloaded" Dawn guessed. "Guys, she took Ash's disappearance harder than anyone else, learning that he's back, well, I can only imagine how hard it hit her."

Gary waved his hand towards the doorway. Nodding, Dawn and Max followed him out. Down the hall and down the stairs, they set up in the living room. Gary let out a sigh. "Guys, if Ash didn't, you know, then why didn't he come back to us?"

"Don't you remember what Tracy told us?" Dawn asked. "He said he completely blamed himself for what happened to May, it nearly destroyed him. Then, the last he saw of her, was her dying."

"Not to mention, Dad tried to enforce the idea that Ash was personally responsible" Max sighed. "I'm starting to see things through May's eyes. Even knowing that Ash is alive, I'm feeling more angry at him for what he did."

"Misty did the same thing" Gary noted. "And he knew her longer, that probably hit him even harder than what Norman did."

"Yeah…" Dawn said. "That poor guy, he must have been living in total guilt."

"One thing I can't figure out…" Max said. "If Ash is alive, why would he be here of all places? It just doesn't make sense."

"The only thing I can think of, is that he's still trying to be a Pokemon Master" Gary offered. "He's probably here under a different name, otherwise I'm sure we would have heard about him."

Dawn looked at Max. "Hey, you probably know more data about Ash than any of us. Do you know any Pokemon of his that lived outside of Professor Oak's Ranch? If he kept being a trainer, he may have gone back for some of his old Pokemon."

"Hmm…" Max thought. "He did have a Lapras when he tackled the Orange League. Charizard is still at Charicific Valley." He looked at Gary. "Didn't he have a Squirtle?"

"Yeah, a part of the Squirtle Squad that was terrorizing parts of Kanto" Gary said. "But the entire gang, including Ash's Squirtle, are now working as firefighters under Officer Jenny. And I saw him in action recently when the fire broke out at Gramps' Lab."

"Oh" Max said. "Let's see, he had a Gliscor that he left behind, right?"

"Gliscor was in training for a while, but he's back at Oak's Lab now too" Dawn said.

"Oh, alright" Max said. "Um, he also had a Pidgeot, he said, that he left back on Route 1 in Kanto, and an Aipom…"

"That he traded to me" Dawn revealed. "Then he evolved into Ambipom."

"Then, ah, that's the last one I can remember" Max said. "Most of what I know about Ash comes from his League Battles. He told me about Pidgeot when we passed by where he had released him."

Dawn let out a defeated sigh. "So we don't really have a way to look for his Pokemon, that's a bummer."

"We know that Charizard is still at the valley, Squirtle is still working for the fire station, and we don't have any way to track Pidgeot or Lapras" Gary noted.

"Hey, I know!" Dawn realized. "We could ask Brock. He might know Pokemon Ash had that didn't appear in any real big battles."

"Eh" Gary groaned. "I'm not so sure, Dawn. Do we really want to let the others know yet? What if we're wrong, and it really hurts us? Don't we want to minimize the damage?"

"Gary, this is Ash we're talking about" Dawn said. "Everyone would jump at the slightest chance for him to be alright, like we are!"

"And what if we _are_ wrong, and let's say, word gets back to Delia before we find that out" Gary countered. "Dawn, the woman was barely taking care of herself for almost two years after Ash passed. She's only been recovering the last year, and the last thing we need to do is push her back into the despair because of false hope."

"A-" Dawn began to say, but she closed her mouth. Letting out a sigh, she nodded. "I'm sorry, you're right Gary. I got ahead of myself and didn't think about the consequences."

Letting out a deep breath, Gary leaned forward and took her hand. "But I don't think that we're wrong" he assured her. "I'm just trying to prevent the absolute worst-case scenario."

Looking up at him, Dawn smiled. "Thanks, Gary" she said sweetly.

"Hey, get a room you two" Max complained.

Dawn glared at Max. "We do have a room. The living room. And since you are no longer in the tournament, that means that we're paying for you to stay with us, so I would watch it."

Max gulped audibly and looked at his feet. "Yes ma'am" he muttered.

Gary chuckled. "Call me weird, but I always love it when the perfect response to shut someone up is given."

"Really?" Dawn asked sarcastically. "I had no idea."

Gary blushed lightly. Max cleared his throat. "But guys, we have to get back to the big subject. How are we going to find him?"

Immediately, they both frowned. "Shoot, Max is right" Gary realized. "We have no idea where he is or what is alias is."

"We could watch out for any trainers with Lapras or Pidgeot" Dawn offered. "But then again, just about any trainer from Kanto could own those two."

"Come on, think you stupid brain" Max said, knocking on his own head. "There's gotta be something we could use to help us find him."

"Pikachu did recognize Ash's scent" Gary noted. "Picking out him in particular, on an island this big could be a problem though."

"Man, I wish Jirachi was here" Max muttered. "If Jirachi was still with me, then I could wish for Ash to come back to us."

"Or maybe if Mesprit were here, it could communicate with Azelf" Dawn groaned. "Azelf would know, it's bonded with Ash after all."

"When it comes down to it, only a Legendary Pokemon could really find him easily" Gary said. "Jirachi are only awake once a millennium, however, and Mesprit may not even be in this dimension. Even if it was, we'd have to go all the way back to Sinnoh and go to Lake Verity, and hope it would present itself to you."

"Ok then…" Max thought. "How about Staraptor? He could search the island from above."

"Not much use if he's disguised" Gary noted. "Staraptor wouldn't be able to pick him out, nor would any of his other Flying Pokemon."

"Gah" Max complained. "How are we supposed to find someone if they don't want to be found?"

"I know…" Dawn said. "It seems like it's impossible."

"Hey guys, worst case scenario, we just have to comb through the entire island" Gary said. "And I'm sure that our Pokemon would be glad to help. Electivire and Umbreon can move really fast and search a lot of areas."

"Unless he already got knocked out of the tournament and left…" Max said.

Dawn frowned. "And we wouldn't know, either, because he's not here as Ash, he's here as someone else."

"Guys, if Ashy boy beat me, then I'm sure that he wouldn't be out just like that" Gary assured.

Dawn looked at Gary perplexedly. "Wow, how long has it been since you've called him 'Ashy boy?'"

Gary shrugged. "A long time, at least" he said. "But now that he's so close by, I can't help but feel, nostalgic."

Max chuckled. "From what I've heard, all it did was tick Ash off when you called him that."

"Maybe I said it in just the right way to get that effect" Gary said sheepishly. "But now, it's just a nickname that I'd had for him."

"Heh" Max chuckled. "I just hope that he still doesn't mind it."

"Well, we'll just have to see once we find him" Gary said.

"Hey guys?" Dawn asked. "Um, speaking of finding him…"

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Huh, what is it, Dawn?" he asked.

Dawn's eyes became worried and she looked down. "I, I know how this sounds… But, maybe, it should just, be the three of us, looking for him…"

Max blinked. "Um, I'm sorry, but did you seriously just suggest that we leave my sister out of it?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "You know, my sister, the one who, out of all of us, took him leaving the hardest and took the evidence that he was back the strongest?"

"Max, I know how it sounds" Dawn said. "But…" she sighed. "I hate to bring it up... But, you know, how she can get, when something to do with him is near."

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room darkened. "Oh…" Max said quietly.

A pained look flashed across Gary's face. "But, she's better now, right?"

Dawn looked to the side. "I don't know, but it's the same case we have with Delia. If we let her get too close to things, and, we don't come up with anything…"

"Dawn, you're wrong" Max interrupted. "I know that you're trying to be cautious and care for my sister, because I care about her too. But she's not that weak. So what if we don't find him? She wouldn't just give up, not even close. She would track him to the ends of the earth."

"But if we don't find him, then we don't want her to waste her entire life either" Dawn said.

"It's a bit late to stop her just by keeping her out of this search" Max pointed out. "She's already seen evidence that Ash is with us. Try to keep her away, and she'll just find a way past you. Dawn, there is no point in trying to keep May out of this. I mean, even if you were trying to keep her from finding out, it would be just, cruel."

"Not to mention…" Gary said. "If she ever found out that you had tried to keep that from her, it would probably destroy your entire friendship. She would probably hate you more than she hates her dad."

Max looked at Dawn. "I'm sorry, you're not bad for thinking like that. I want to protect Sis too. But, this isn't the way to do it."

"Oh…" Dawn said. "I, I'm sorry, I guess I just got ahead of myself and didn't think things through."

"We've all had moments like that in the past, Dawn" Gary assured her gently.

Dawn let out a deep breath. "Right" she said. Looking out the window, there wasn't much to see. Dusk had fallen since the events that had gone down since returning to the house. "Well, whatever we choose to do, we can't do anything until morning."

"Yeah…" Gary agreed. "No use searching in the dark, we probably couldn't turn up something anyways."

Max nodded. "Ok, but first thing in the morning, I'm grabbing Grovyle, Gardevoir, and Metang, then I'm heading out to look. Gary, you might still be in the tournament, and May owes it to Ash's Pokemon to keep going, but I'm gonna search from sunup to sundown."

"Yeah" Gary cheered. "That's the spirit. And remember, for the first few rounds, matches are spaced out every other day. So I can off a few days to help over the next week or so."

"And come on, did you forget about me?" Dawn asked with a wink. "I don't have anything on my plate besides training my Pokemon, and I'm sure they'd much rather help us search than make up some pretty combo moves."

Gary looked back and forth between the two. "So, it's settled. Tomorrow, all four of us are going out searching, right?"

"You bet your Blastoise on it" Max chuckled.

"Well duh, what else would I do after saying all of that?" Dawn asked jokingly, bumping into Gary.

Smirking, Gary nodded. "Right. Ashy-boy, you aren't going to be able to stay away from us anymore!"

* * *

 _ **Forest**_

* * *

"You appear, quite pale" Mewtwo commented.

Ash tossed a blood-soaked burlap sack on the ground. "I did end up losing a fair amount of blood when I broke my nose" he said. "It was pretty bad."

Looking at Ash's nose, seeing it bent the wrong way, Mewtwo stuck his hand out and pointed it at Ash. "This may hurt a bit" Mewtwo commented.

"Huh, what are you-?" Ash began to ask before a blissful feeling happened on his nose. Mewtwo's arm glowed green as he used Recover, healing the injury. "This doesn't hurt" he said.

"I'm not done yet" Mewtwo said.

The green light on Mewtwo's hand abruptly changed to purple, and suddenly, Ash nose was forced straight again. The force of Psychic when up his nostrils and bent the bent tissue back where it was supposed to be. The forced fixing made Ash use all of his power not to shout in pain, barely holding back a few select words.

Mewtwo lowered his hand, and the glow stopped. Ash's nose, while no longer bent, was throbbing. "Hrrgh" Ash grunted. "You know, there are less painful ways to mend a broken nose!"

"But none more effective" Mewtwo shrugged.

"If we were to fight against a big Pokemon that broke your arm, would you want me to fix it by grabbing the splintered pieces inside and jamming them together?" Ash asked.

"Why not?" Mewtwo asked. "Once they are in the proper place, it will be much easier to set them and allow them to heal."

Ash stared at Mewtwo. "You are one messed up Mon" he said, shaking his head.

"And you are one messed up man" Mewtwo countered. "We're both messed up, we gave away our freedom to save a bunch of things that we don't even know."

"Touche" Ash admitted.

Smirking, Mewtwo studied him. "Your Aura is rather weak right now, I may add. Was generating a light source too taxing for your abilities?"

"No" Ash said. Then he remembered something. "Oh yeah. Mewtwo, I was wondering if you could Teleport to the Tree of Beginning real fast and grab Aaron's gloves for me."

"Aaron's, gloves?" Mewtwo asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I've been having… A bit of trouble lately… Controlling my Aura" he admitted. "I was thinking, if I had the gloves, then they might help. They were really useful for focusing and optimizing Aura usage."

Raising his hand, Mewtwo let out a dim flash of light. Ash felt something fall into his lap. Looking down, Ash saw that the gloves he had just been asking about had appeared. "Wait, since when can you Teleport objects to you over long distances?" Ash asked.

"If I know exactly what I'm looking for, know exactly where it is, and can visualize it, I can summon it" Mewtwo explained. "Of course, considering I can hardly be an inch off, it's not practical. But, I've made a few visits to the central chamber of the Tree of Beginning, enough to remember where they were."

"That's useful" Ash muttered, picking up the gloves. They were heavier than they appeared, weighed down by the large crystal inlaid upon each one. Slipping them onto his hands, Ash studied them. Testing them, he channeled his Aura into his hand. The large white crystals began glowing blue, swirling energy inside of them. Energy sparked in his palm, and the exact same energy that had appeared in his glove began taking form. A swirling blue Aura Sphere came into existence, almost completely perfect.

"Wow" Ash commented. "I've never had this much control before." Standing up, he looked at Mewtwo. "Care to help me test how good it is?"

Genuinely grinning, Mewtwo Teleported a few feet away from Ash, a small ball of dark purple energy taking form in his hands. "I believe that I will win by default" he said. "I've been creating Aura Spheres since before you even knew the word 'Aura.'"

Ash stood up. Now channeling energy from both hands, both gloves, the Aura Sphere began to glow a darker blue, filled with condensed Aura. "Mewtwo, when you're ready" he said.

"No time like the present" Mewtwo said.

Tensing up, Ash pushed the sphere forward. Springing forward, it lept from his hands and flew towards Mewtwo at a high velocity.

Simultaneously, Mewtwo thrust his arm forward, his own purple Aura Sphere streaking towards the blue one. The two collided at high velocity, clashing brilliantly, for a moment. Quickly, the purple sphere pushed the blue one back, and after a few seconds, it pierced right through, and flew on forward.

Gritting his teeth, Ash put his hands up and caught the attack. The friction as it connected made his hands feel really warm, really fast. Channelling his own Aura, Ash felt the spare strength run through his hands, and he crushed Mewtwo's Aura Sphere.

Aura fading, Ash stumbled slightly. "Ok, that was intense" he admitted. "I guess that I really was no match."

"You may be a prodigy in the ways of Aura" Mewtwo smirked. "But I, unlike you, was completely built for battle. You cannot overpower me like that."

"True enough" Ash said, bracing himself on his knees. "But man, these gloves are something else."

"Yes they are" Mewtwo nodded. "Yet you appear worn out. I was under the impression that your Aura Sphere hardly took anything out of you."

"Hardly anything" Ash agreed. "I just, it's getting late. I'd better get to sleep anyways. Considering we already found Mew, we'll have to think about what else that could be done tomorrow."

"Here" Mewtwo said. "How about this? We try to dig up some leads on the trash on the island so we can take care of them."

"With 'one special Hyper Beam?'" Ash chuckled.

"Uh, not quite" Mewtwo shook his head. "My Hyper Beam is for their headquarters. For those individual swine, I'm debating. Roast them alive with Flamethrower, give them frostbite with Ice Beam, give them a free flight to the middle of the ocean with Psychic…" Mewtwo trailed off and looked down at his hand, a purple blade popping out. "Of course, there is also always Psycho Cut…"

"Alright, didn't need that visual trying to sleep" Ash said. "That might be a bit much, Mewtwo."

"What do you mean, 'a bit much?'" Mewtwo asked. "Don't you remember what you did to that Archer with that Bone Rush technique of yours?"

"Hey, he was attacking innocent people with a Houndoom, what was I supposed to do?" Ash defended himself.

"Knock out the Houndoom and give him a stern talking to, like any other thug we've encountered?" Mewtwo asked. "Instead, you demonstrated the piercing power of a clubbed bone made of energy. Much more effective than one may assume."

"No other thug was ordering his Pokemon to use Fire Fang on children for the sport of it" Ash growled, the gems beginning to swirl again.

"Yet you let him off easily" Mewtwo shrugged.

"How was what I did 'letting him easily?'" Ash asked.

"Too fast, not enough suffering and watching his fluids flee his carcass" Mewtwo pointed out.

Trying to force another gory image out of his mind, Ash turned around. "I know that we joked about both being messed up, Mewtwo, but you're taking it to a whole 'nother level."

"Having mass anger and hatred against a group of crooks is not _so_ messed up as you make it out to be" Mewtwo said.

"It is when you take it to that point" Ash muttered under his breath. Letting out a yawn, Ash looked at Mewtwo. "By the way, where did Latias go?"

"Hmm?" Mewtwo huffed, closing his eyes. After a brief moment, he opened them. "She's in human form, exploring the island. This is the only modern place she has ever visited, even Altomare was rather rustic. I suppose she wants to look around."

"Alright then" Ash said. "Could you make sure that she gets back here before too late? I think that Misty might have recognized her when we still were in the house. The last thing we need is another bad case of them on our tail."

Mewtwo nodded. "I'll gladly keep an eye on her. After all, we are brethren."

Ash let out a sigh of relief. "Well, if all of that is taken care of, I'm going to go to sleep."

Mewtwo nodded. "Rest well, you look like the living dead."

"Thanks" Ash chuckled, setting himself down on a pad made of silk, courtesy of Volcarona's String Shot. Lying back, Ash began to realize just how fatigued he felt. Usually, he had trouble falling asleep, but this was one of those rare occasions where the opposite was true. His eyes tried to force themselves shut, and nothing Ash could do would stop them. Within seconds, he had retreated, his mind blanketing itself in layers of rest and dreams, becoming completely oblivious to the world, as he fully lost consciousness.

Looking down at the sleeping guardian, Mewtwo chuckled. A late dusk filled the sky, only a dark cobalt was visible, anywhere where the sun may have been peeking over the mountains was blocked out by the trees and the canopy that had been created by the Pokemon. "Ah, darkness" he sighed. "Peace and quiet, my favorite place."

A bright light flashed out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, and noted a brightly glowing gem in the hands of the Kirlia, Riolu looking at it. Sighing, Mewtwo levitated into the air. "So much for resting in the darkness" he thought. "I suppose that I may as well go fetch Latias. Perhaps by the time I am back, the little one will be done playing with the light _brighter than a nuclear explosion!"_

Shaking his head, Mewtwo parted the leaves just above him, and shot out of the canopy, dashing into the evening sky.

* * *

 _ **House 394**_

* * *

Late at night, after everyone had gone to sleep, the window cracked open. A small figure jumped through the opening, stepping onto the porch. The sky was a deep, dark purple, yet brightly lit by entire constellations of stars and the massive moon hanging within it.

Nimbly jumping onto the porch table, then down on the chair, leading down to the floor, Pikachu jumped towards the edge of the porch, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

Leaning back, Pikachu sat down on the lowest part of the staircase, just above the ground. The full moon hung in the sky, reflected in sad eyes. Pikachu stared at the moon, the large pale orb, and his ears drooped, falling down past his head. His tail was on the ground, and his back feet were out in front of him.

"Pikapi" Pikachu murmured. "Pika, Pikachu Pika Pi."

The utter and complete silence was broken by a light creaking. Pikachu's ear twitched, and careful footfalls came down behind him. "Gla?"

Pikachu's ear twitched again, and he turned his head to see the approaching figure. "Pi?" Pikachu asked.

Glaceon stepped forward on light feet, settling herself down next to Pikachu. "Glaceon Glace?"

Pikachu sighed and his ears drooped further. "Pika…"

 **-Translator Active-**

"Why are you out here so late?" Glaceon asked concernedly.

"I, I couldn't stop thinking…" Pikachu said sadly.

"About what?" Glaceon asked.

"About… Ash…" Pikachu sighed.

"Oh, you're still going through all of this?" Glaceon asked sadly. "I know it must be hard, you were with him longer than anyone."

"It's not just that" Pikachu said. "I can't understand… Why he would leave everyone, and me, behind? He didn't even say goodbye… He just, abandoned me." Tears began to sparkle in Pikachu's eyes, glinting in the moonlight. "I just, don't, understand" he half sobbed.

Seeing the effect his very own thoughts were having on Pikachu, Glaceon began to feel herself begin to be moved to tears as well. "Pikachu…" Glaceon said sadly.

Pikachu scrunched his eyes tight, the tears now free flowing, staining the wooden surface beneath him wet. Bringing his arms up to his face, he hid behind them, shielding his eyes from view.

Growing more worried about the small electric mouse, Glaceon leaned in and nuzzled Pikachu's shoulder gently. The cool, fresh feeling of her fur got Pikachu's attention, as he lowered his arms slightly and looked over at her.

"Hey" she said sweetly. "I know it must hurt, but I just know, there has to be an explanation." Frowning, she continued. "And if there isn't, I may use that Iron Tail that you've been helping me with to good use."

Pikachu looked a Glaceon, shocked. "You would, hurt, Ash?" he asked.

"If he tried to hurt you" Glaceon said. "I, I don't like seeing you hurt" she said, shyly turning her head away at the last bit.

Pikachu swallowed, still holding tears back. "I, I just know, he wouldn't just leave me, after all me and him have been through, but, I can't figure out, why?"

Sniffling, they began to creep down his face again. Glaceon let out a sad breath. "Pikachu…" she said again, knowing that what she was saying wasn't able to get through to him right now.

Suddenly, she had an idea about how she might snap him out of it. Pikachu had turned a brief moment ago, his back to Glaceon. A mischievous glint flashed in Glaceon's eyes, and smirking, she leaned forward, sneaking closer to Pikachu from behind. Getting up close, Glaceon began nuzzling Pikachu's side in a different way. Pikachu's crying slowly began to change, becoming faster and higher pitched. He started flailing a bit, as Glaceon continued to Tickle Pikachu.

As Pikachu began to lose control, Glaceon took a small step back, before pouncing on him. Jumping on top of the giggling Pikachu, Glaceon landed on him and pinned him beneath her. On his back, looking up at her, Pikachu was shocked. Glaceon smiled and looked down at Pikachu, before leaning low and quickly licking him on the cheek. Pulling back, blushing furiously, Glaceon got off of Pikachu and allowed him up.

Pikachu sat up and looked at Glaceon. It was hard to tell whether or not he was blushing too, between the darkness and his permanently red cheeks, but he definitely looked better. A trace of sadness lingered in his eyes, but now, they were mostly filled with happiness as he looked at Glaceon.

Glaceon looked at Pikachu. "How do you feel now?" she asked softly.

Pikachu smiled and nodded. "I feel, a lot better" he said.

Smiling, Glaceon lowered her head and nuzzled into Pikachu's chest. Sighing contentedly, she pulled back, a light blush once more applying itself to her cheeks, the contrast between pale blue and dark red astounding.

"I guess we should head back inside" Glaceon said. "If May wakes up, and we're out here, we could be in trouble."

"Yeah" Pikachu nodded. "But, there's something that I have to do first."

"Huh?" Glaceon asked.

Pikachu got down on all fours and bolted out onto the sidewalk, no more roof above his head, just open sky.

Sparks began leaping from Pikachu's cheeks. Standing up straight on his hind legs, the sparks began travelling down his body, until he was cloaked in an aura of electricity.

"Pikaaaaaa" Pikachu began to say. "CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu became the epicenter of a massive surge of powerful electric energy. A massive bolt, thicker than many trees together, shot skyward, the neon yellow light casting a glow over the entire island. The Thunderbolt seemed to pierce the heavens themselves, cleaving the sky.

Lowering back down onto all fours, Pikachu smiled while breathing a little harder for it. "That's my way of letting you know" he said. "That I'm here, and I will find you."

And little did Pikachu know, far away from where he was standing, deep within a solid ceiling of wooden branches and thick clusters of leaves, and a small grove, a young man, in his sleep, stirred slightly, a small smile coming to his face from within his dream.

 **-Translator Deactivated-**

Pikachu turned around and ran back to the porch near Glaceon. Hopping up the steps, then up on top of the table, Pikachu stepped into the windowsill, still open. He waved Glaceon his way. "Pika Chupika" he said quietly, not wanting to do anything else that might disturb the others. After that, he hopped through the window, disappearing into the dark house.

Glaceon smiled, as Pikachu seemed to be back to his old self. "Gla…" Glaceon cooed.

Running up, jumping up the chair and onto the table, Glaceon paused before heading in. Looking into the window, Pikachu rounded the corner and disappeared upstairs. "Glace, Glaceon Gla" Glaceon said quietly, a red glow taking up on her cheeks, and a shy smile coming to her face, before she jumped off the table and back inside, kicking the window closed behind her.

* * *

 _ **Morning**_

* * *

*BEE-*

Even before the first beep had time to finish, the alarm was turned off. The sky this morning was overcast, but not terribly so.

With a simple tug, her red bandana was fastened to her head, snug as a Bug-Type. Stepping quietly, as to not wake the others, May slipped out her bedroom and was downstairs in the blink of an eye, Pikachu and Glaceon on her tail. She threw the front door open, shrugging off the brisk chill in the air, before rushing out the door, closing it silently behind her.

Around her neck, May wore a simple string, however, on that string was a single medal, split into two parts. Touching it gently, May had her mind made up even more so about what she was to do, and she took off. "I'm doing this alone" she thought. "It was because of me that he left, and it damn well is going to be because of me that he comes home."

Behind her on the ground, Pikachu and Glaceon ran alongside her. She went over everything she knew in her head. "Alright" she thought excitedly. "Ash's ribbon was found, heavy with his scent, laying in the road. The road in question happened to be on the same street where we had gone to visit Tracey and Misty on, which means that he had a reason to be there… But why?"

She slowed down as she came to a mental roadblock. Then she shrugged. "When in doubt, return to the scene of the crime" she said. She looked down at Pikachu and Glaceon. "Come on, guys, let's head over there" she said, gesturing towards the center of the island, where they had been the other day.

"Pika/Glace!" the two nodded, running alongside her as she sprinted in that direction.

As May ran, her mind began to wander. "Ash…" she thought. "I, I still feel as if I'm in a dream. A dream where, you're still alive. But if this is a dream, strike me with a coma so that it doesn't end anytime soon."

She subconsciously reached up to her neck, making sure that both pieces were still there. A warm feeling took root in her chest whenever her fingers brushed the left half, the one that had belonged to Ash, and it hardened her resolve to not stop.

She ran past countless people and Pokemon as she made her way towards where she had found the ribbon, but they were all a blur, distant to her. It seemed to take both forever and no time at all to reach it, and when she got there, it was all but empty. Very few people were out and about in the early morning here.

She could remember the exact location where she had found the ribbon, down to the inch. While it hadn't seemed major at the time, once she discovered that it was Ash's, her mind went into overdrive trying to remember where exactly it had laid.

There was also something, something that was there, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Something imperceptible, hanging in the air. A strange feeling, completely unique, undescribable, yet familiar somehow…

Pikachu darted around her, coming to a stop near the spot on the ground. Glaceon stepped forward and stopped right next to her, the two of them looking at Pikachu as he sniffed the ground. Shifting his head left and right, Pikachu walked around the area a bit, but ultimately came walking walking back with his head hung low. "Pika Pi…" Pikachu sighed.

Smiling, May reached down and petted Pikachu. "Hey, it's alright, Pikachu. We don't know how long it's been since he was here, it could have been almost a week ago. You tried, that's all that matters."

"Pika..." Pikachu nodded, before looking around again. Suddenly, his ears went straight up, and his cheeks began sparking. He got down on all fours, looking around.

"Huh, Pikachu, what's wrong?" May asked, before she noticed that Glaceon too had assumed a similar pose, reverse of Pikachu, surveying the area.

"Glaaa…" Glaceon growled.

May began to feel worried. "Guys, what could be here, we're on a resort with tons of people around." The very moment she got done saying that, the temperature seemed to drop, as if chills were being sent up her spine and through her entire body. She didn't have the senses of her Pokemon, but her instincts were telling every fiber of her body to run.

Movement flickered out of the corner of her eye, and she whipped around, but saw nothing. She sensed movement again, but try as she might, she was coming up with nothing. Suddenly, Glaceon barked at something behind her. She turned around, once more not seeing anything, until she looked down.

Her shadow had distorted, becoming much wider and wavy. Her breath caught in her throat, hardly daring to breath, as she had no idea what was going on. A bright flash of light took place behind her, and a Thunderbolt whizzed past, striking the shadow.

At that moment, what could only be described as a grunt was heard. Pikachu and Glaceon rushed to her side, Pikachu's cheeks crackling with power, while a glowing ball of bluish-white energy formed in front of Glaceon's mouth. Her shadow began to shrink, something, emerging from it, pulling off of the ground, and rising into the air, as if the distortion were taking on a three dimensional aspect.

"Pika!" Pikachu began to cry, lighting up even brighter, but then, suddenly, it all faded. "Pika?" he said, much calmer this time.

A large figure materialized in front of them, flowing black, and red and white near the top. The being had a single, piercing blue eye visible. Glaceon reared back, ready to fire her Ice Beam, before Pikachu ran in front of her, waving his arms.

Scared as she was by the Pokemon that had appeared before them, May noticed Pikachu's behavior. "Pikachu, do you, know, this Pokemon?" she asked.

Pikachu nodded. "Pi-" Pikachu began to say, before a voice cut him off.

"Darkrai, where have you ran off to this time?"

The large black Pokemon turned around, and standing behind him was a young trainer, dressed in red clothes and with rugged gray/blue hair.

The man walked up to them, taking notice of May, Pikachu, and Glaceon, and noting the slightly fearful look May still wore upon her face. "Hello there" he said. "My apologies, on the rare occasion Darkrai feels bored, he tends to make sport of frightening people."

"That's a Darkrai?" May asked. "Isn't that a Legendary Pokemon?"

The man nodded. "Indeed he is. I met Darkrai long ago. He agreed to a challenge from myself, and when I won, he conceded to join me." He held a Pokeball out from underneath his cloak. "Darkrai, return" he commanded, the Pitch Black Pokemon being whisked back into his ball. Once Darkrai was gone, he looked at them more carefully, his face settling on Pikachu. "Oh, I do believe I recognize you" he said.

"You know Pikachu too?" May asked. Then it clicked. Mysterious demeanor, Darkrai, and he recognized Pikachu, who also recognized the Darkrai. "You must be, Tobias" she realized.

"Hmm?" Tobias asked. "Yes, I am. How did you know my name?"

"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said, waving at Tobias.

Looking down, Tobias gave a small smile. "Hello, little one. I assume you are as strong as ever by the shock you gave Darkrai back there?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded.

Tobias looked back at May. "Tell me, how did you come across this Pikachu. I happen to know the trainer who used to own him, and you aren't him."

May cleared her throat. "I'm sorry" she said, extending her hand. "I'm May Maple, one of Ash's friends."

"Oh, I see" Tobias said, extending his hand. Shaking it firmly, he nodded. "Yes, I do believe I recognize you now. Quite the famous Coordinator, but that doesn't explain what you are doing here, and what you are doing with his partner Pokemon."

"Well, you see…" May said. "Ash, he, left, for a while, leaving all of his Pokemon behind. And, while he was gone, I took up his journey for his Pokemon's sake."

"Oh, is that so?" Tobias asked.

"Yeah" May said.

"Pika" Pikachu nodded, affirming it.

"I see then" Tobias said. He looked down at Pikachu. "You have obviously been taking very good care of his Pokemon. This Pikachu, he is much stronger than when he battled against me at the Lily of the Valley conference, and even then, he single handedly tied with my Latios."

"Pika Chu" Pikachu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Tobias smiled. "Who knows, perhaps we will get matched up. There are very few trainers who have ever presented a challenge to myself, almost all of which being Elites or Champions. Ash and his partners are one of the only few outside of those select groups that have ever taken down Darkrai or Latios."

"It's still hard to picture a Trainer besting and catching two Legendary Pokemon" May said. "The only other Trainer I've known to do that was Brandon."

"Oh, you know the Pyramid King?" Tobias asked. "Another worthy opponent. His golems were a match for my Pokemon."

"Wait, do you have even more Legendary Pokemon than Darkrai and Latios?" May asked.

Tobias smiled. "Perhaps I have one or two more secret Pokemon" he admitted. "However, a trainer who commands an entire legion of them? That is something to be saved for storytelling. I, like any other Trainer, had beginnings, and first partners. They find time to battle, but for major matches, Darkrai tends to try and find a challenge wherever possible."

"Oh" May said, suddenly feeling very small compared to this towering figure of a Trainer. "What if Ash had to go up against him?" she thought. "He could be out, and gone already!"

"Hmm? Is something the matter?" Tobias asked.

May realized that a panic had taken ahold of her. Shaking it off, she put on a calm mask. "What, no, everything's fine" she said, lying through her teeth.

"Hmm…" Tobias muttered. He reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a Pokeball. "Well now, once again, I apologize for Darkrai's behavior. He meant no harm, only to give you a spook,"

"I understand" May said. "Even Legendary Pokemon are still Pokemon. They have quirks, and like to play, and all of that."

"Yes, quite so" Tobias nodded.

In his hand, the Pokeball popped open, beaming light into the air above them. The light condensed and elongated, until bursting away, revealing a blue and white Pokemon. "Sha!" Latios cried, dashing high into the air before diving down and coming to a stop.

May stared. "Wow, that's the second Legendary Pokemon I've seen in five minutes" she said

Smiling, Tobias chuckled. "I truly hope that your friend will return soon to clear your burden" he said.

"What?" May asked.

"You belong in the Contest circuit, I can tell" Tobias said. "Once your friend returns, you will no longer have to look after those Pokemon of his, and you can return to what you wish to do."

"Oh, right" May said.

Smiling, Tobias climbed onto Latios. "Few can put on a show quite as you can, Miss Maple" he said. "Smart Trainers learn a lot from watching expert Coordinators, learning how to combine attacks for maximum efficiency in battle. I would hope to have fresh material to study once more, soon enough."

Smiling herself at words of encouragement from the legendary Trainer, May nodded. "Don't you worry" she said. "I will."

"Very well then" Tobias said. "Latios, away."

"Sha!" Latios cried, going from zero to fifty in the blink of an eye, creating a vacuum that nearly pulled May off her feet as he zoomed into the sky. Pikachu and Glaceon hugged the ground to avoid being swept up in the gale.

Looking up at the figure that was rapidly vanishing into the sky, that sense of panic May had felt a few moments ago began to make itself known again. "What if Ash got into a battle with that guy and lost it?" she asked worriedly, Pikachu and Glaceon hearing her, and looking at her, the same thoughts now going through their heads. "If Ash got eliminated from the tournament, then, he wouldn't be here, anymore… Which means, he might be, almost impossible to find…"

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said, shaking his head as May hund hers low. Pumping his fist, he put a determined expression on his face. "Pika! Pikachu PikaPi!"

"Pikachu…" May said, before nodding. "Right, Ash Ketchum wouldn't go down in the first round. We know that for a fact. If the tournament is still on, then he's still here."

"Pika!" Pikachu said energetically.

"Glaceon Glace" Glaceon nodded, smiling at Pikachu.

May looked around. "The only problem…" she said, frowning. "I don't know how we're going to find him if we can't track his scent here."

"Pika, Pikachu Pika Bi!" Pikachu said, waving his arms around.

"What?" May asked. "What are you saying, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu, Pikachu Pika Chi Pika Chupi" Pikachu said.

May smiled a bit. "No, Pikachu, I doubt that we'll find him at a buffet."

"Pika?!" Pikachu asked, shocked.

"Glace" Glaceon chuckled at Pikachu.

May reached down and petted Pikachu. "It's not that I don't think that's a good idea, but I don't think that Ash will be there…"

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

May looked down at him. "Pikachu, you know how Ash gets after something like that, even if he barely knew them… I, I still have bad dreams about, back then…"

"Pikachu Pi?" Pikachu wondered what she was talking about.

May let out a deep breath. "Don't you remember how he got, back in Kanto. He was happy that he had you back, but once his euphoria wore off, he really began to take losing Lucario hard."

Pikachu remembered what she was talking about now, and his ears drooped as well, remembering how distant he had become.

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

* * *

" _Ash!"_

" _Ash, where are you?"_

" _PikaBi!"_

" _Ash, this isn't funny, come on out."_

 _May, Max, Brock, and Pikachu were wandering through the woods near where they had set up camp for the night. Dusk was falling fast, and Ash had gone for a walk earlier, without saying anything as he stood up and left. However, when Brock called for dinner, usually as good as a Teleport for Ash, he didn't reappear, for a very long time, enough to make the others worry._

 _Brock pushed his way through the heavy brush, while Pikachu used Quick Attack to jump from tree to tree high above them, covering ground fast. May and Max split up to cover more ground._

" _Come on, Ash" May called out. "It's getting late, where are you?"_

 _Similarly, she could hear cries from Pikachu, and calls from Max and Brock ring throughout the thick woodworks as she trampled through the bushes. She could tell, none of them were having any luck with their searches either._

 _Stumbling between some trees, May emerged from the dark canopy, nearly falling into a small river. It was about ten feet across, really shallow, only a few feet deep in the center. Looking to her left, she could see that the river spilled over the edge of a cliff a fair ways down._

 _She began to shiver, the air colder near the rushing water. "Ash!" she called out, looking around. "Ash, where are you?"_

 _The sky was beginning to darken, making it harder to make things out. Everything was covered in a dim gray light already, and May knew that within the next twenty minutes, this place could be pitch black, which put a sense of urgency on her search._

 _That's when she looked left again, towards the waterfall, and she noticed a small bit of a blue object was visible from around the trunk of the tree nearest to the edge._

 _Running over, May let out a sigh of relief when she was proven correct, the blue object was Ash's jacked, on Ash. He laid back against the tree trunk, his feet bent on the ground in front of him. He pointed himself out over the cliff._

" _Ash, there you are" May said, relief evident in her voice._

" _..." Ash didn't respond._

 _Frowning slightly, May leaned down and touched Ash's shoulder. "Ash, didn't you hear all of us calling for you?" she asked._

" _Must have missed it" Ash said, dull and unconvincingly as he stared out over the cliff._

 _Following his gaze, May couldn't figure out what he was looking it. The settling dusk made it hard to make anything out besides the horizon. Then she recognized a large formation sitting at the very edge of the world. A massive structure of green and gray, seemingly sparkling in the sunset._

" _The Tree of Beginning?" May wondered. She looked back down at Ash. "You know, dinner's getting cold, and it's getting late, why don't we head back?"_

 _Ash made the tiniest of movements, acknowledging that he had heard her. May began to worry, Ash never acted like this before, it was as if he were a completely different person._

 _Kneeling down next to him, May looked parallel to Ash, also looking at the Tree. "So, what are you doing out here, Ash?" she asked, making conversation._

 _Ash reached up and pulled his hat low, shielding his face from view. "Nothing" he said without emotion._

 _Changing tactic, May asked something else. "I noticed the view of the Tree of Beginning" she said. "It's really pretty right now."_

" _Yeah" Ash said, still not moving._

 _May began to feel upset. Something was obviously bothering Ash, yet he refused to share and get help. "Ash" she said sternly. "How are we supposed to help you if you don't tell us what's wrong?"_

 _Ash didn't make a sound, didn't move, nothing. Frowning, May reached out and shook his shoulder, when he responded by shaking her off. "Ash, I-" she began to say, before he finally spoke up._

"You can't help me!" _he shouted. The anger and pain in his voice was tangible. "_ None of you know what I'm going through!"

" _Ash, how do you know that?" May asked angrily._

"Tell me, have you ever been responsible for killing a friend?" _he asked. "_ No, I didn't think so!"

" _Killed a friend?" May wondered. Then it hit her, what was bothering Ash, shaking his foundations like this. "Ash, Lucario dying, that wasn't your fault."_

" _I was there, May!" he said, still with a raised voice, but a little quieter. The anger had begun to leave his voice, and it began to sound like he was about to cry. "I was right there, and all I did was watch as Lucario gave his life to save Mew and the countless other Pokemon there, not to mention all of us! I tried to help, but Lucario was still the one who lost his life stopping it."_

" _But that's not your fault" May said. "Lucario pushed you out of the way to keep_ you _from destroying yourself."_

" _And in return for that, I had to watch as he destroyed himself" Ash said. "Because I was too weak, I as good as let Lucario die. I held him in my hands as he faded, I watched his spirit fly away! There's nothing worse that being completely helpless, being too weak to keep a friend from dying."_

" _But that's what Lucario wanted" May pointed out. "Lucario wanted you to live, to leave it to him so that he could prove himself and rejoin his friend."_

 _Ash stood up suddenly, startling May. "And that just proves" he said, his voice low and dull again. "You have no idea what I'm going through."_

 _Stepping over her, Ash walked back upstream, before turning at the path that led back to the campground. "I'm going back. You're right, I shouldn't keep the others worried about me" he said, before turning on the spot and disappearing from view._

 _May stood up, frowning once more, half out of anger, half out of concern. "Ash…" she said. "Where did you go? That, that person, that's not you. That's not the person I…" she stopped, talking, jamming her hands in her pockets and walking in the same direction he went._

* * *

 _ **Flashback End**_

* * *

May sighed as she got done reliving her bad memory. "All I'm saying is, after something that makes Ash have all of that Survivor's Guilt, he, he isn't himself anymore" she explained to Pikachu.

"Pika…" Pikachu said, realizing what she meant now. "Pika, Pikachu Pi."

May nodded. "Yeah, so I'm not sure we would find him anywhere the old Ash would have gone here. We'll have to think outside of the box on this one."

Glaceon stepped forward. "Glaceon Gla?" she asked. "Glace Glaceon Gla?"

Pikachu's face went pale. "Pika?!" he asked.

Chuckling lightly at Pikachu, May shook her head. "Ash didn't just like Pikachus. He liked Pikachu in particular. He won't have a replacement Pikachu on him."

"Pi…" Pikachu breathed out a sigh of relief.

Standing up, May looked at the view. The particular neighborhood was elevated, as was the center of the island. Sprawling out beneath her, battle facilities and shops were spread out everywhere. "What if-" May began to say, before a voice cut her off.

"May!" a figure with blue hair shouted out, running up to her, with two others hot on her tail. Dawn came to a stop in front of her, panting. "What the heck, May?" she asked. "Why'd you just ditch us and leave without a word?"

"I, I went out to go try and find Ash" May explained, shocked by Dawn, Max, and Gary's sudden appearances.

"Without us?" Gary asked. "Oh, I know, you just want to have all the credit for finding him, I get it."

"No, Gary, that's not it" May said, glaring daggers at him.

"Then what in the world made you just up and leave us without a word like that?" Max asked. "We want to find him just as much as you do, after all."

May frowned. "Guys, it's just, I need to do this alone."

"What?" Dawn asked, shocked.

"But, but Sis-" Max began to whine, before May held up a hand.

"Guys, it's because of me that Ash left in the first place" she said firmly. "If I hadn't been so hasty climbing down that mountain, so rushed, if I had trusted Ash and taken it slow, then I wouldn't have fallen, and he wouldn't have felt the need to give up his own life to save me. If I want to make up for him nearly killing himself, and living in solitude because he thinks I'm dead, then it needs to be me that finds him. I need to be the one to bring him back to us."

"But what-" Gary began to ask.

"No buts, I'm finding him alone" May said with an iron-clad resolve.

Dawn looked at the other two. "Guys, I know that look. She's not going to back down from this."

"May, you know that we want to help!" Max said. "You can't just cut us out."

"Max, I have to do this" May repeated, standing her ground. "You aren't going to budge my opinion."

"But-" Max began to say, before Gary cut in this time.

"Hey, how about this" Gary offered. "May, we'll leave you alone to your searching. But, whenever you can't search, like when you're in a battle, you let us take over for whatever time that takes up. Sound fair?"

May thought about it, really hard. Gary added on an extra bit. "And even if we do manage to find him first, how about we just keep tabs on him, until you're free, then you can be the one to approach him. Sound fair?"

May sighed. "You guys are just as persistent as I am" she said. "Alright, fine, I agree."

"Well, that's something, at least!" Max cheered.

Dawn looked at May. "And if you change your mind, or need any help, never forget, that we're here to help too" she said seriously.

May nodded. "Of course" she said.

Smiling, Dawn turned around. "Alright, you two, let's head back and leave May to her thing" she said.

Reluctantly, the two boys followed Dawn away. Pikachu ran forward and waved them off, calling out to them. Max grumbled about Pikachu rubbing it in, but didn't come back over.

Letting out a breath of relief that her friends were so understanding, May turned around. "Alright, guys, let's see what we can turn up" she said to the two.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Glace!" Glaceon nodded as well.

Looking up the path, May suddenly realized just how tough it might be, searching the entire island for Ash. Her hopes were that if he somehow managed to see her, that he might come back herself. Any way, she just wanted him back, no matter what. She remembered a song that she had heard once, a very long time ago, it came to mind.

" _I will search the whole world over_ " she sang softly. " _If that's what I must do._ "

Pikachu and Glaceon looked up at her, cocking their heads.

" _I'll follow every winding road, just to find you_ " she said as they began to walk forward. " _I've got a dream that I just can't ignore. Before I get through, I will open every door_."

Pikachu and Glaceon smiled as they began to pick up pace going down the path.

"And, we will meet again…" May trailed off.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said with energy.

"Glace!" Glaceon said encouragingly.

Feeling the support from the two, May nodded. "Yeah, we will meet again."

* * *

 _ **Forest (Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

Three figures appeared in a clearing, one figure being slammed into a tree by another.

All of his Pokemon were in their Pokeballs, which was good, as they wouldn't want to see this. At the end of his arm, Ash had one man pinned by the throat against the tree. The man wore a skin-tight black jumpsuit, with a large red "R" emblemized upon it, but that's not all he wore. He also wore a look of deep fear, as Ash's glowing blue eyes stared straight into his soul.

"Now, are you going to tell me what you were doing down there?" Ash growled.

"I, I swear, I'm just a repairman" the grunt stuttered.

"Right, a repairman dressed in the Team Rocket uniform" Ash chuckled darkly. "Do you think me stupid? You must be, if you decided to wear that thing while creeping around. It's a freaking dead giveaway."

"Listen, I don't know anything" he said fearfully.

"You know enough" Ash said, tightening his grip slightly. "And if I were you, I wouldn't try to escape. All it takes is some effort from me, and 'bye-bye windpipe.'"

" _Since when do you do that?"_ Mewtwo's voice in his head asked. Ignoring him, Ash focused on the man.

"Alright Alright, just don't crush my throat" he begged. "All I know is that a small group of us were sent to occupy the maintenance tunnels beneath the island, and to locate the prize Pokemon of the tournament, and make sure that it was ready."

"Ready, for, what?" Ash asked.

"I don't know, I swear!" the grunt sobbed. "All I know is that something was supposed to go down in the next week, so we had to be ready when we got the signal."

"Details, details..." Ash chuckled in an almost maniacal way, attempting (and succeeding) to strike an even deeper fear into the man's heart.

"I swear, I don't know. The signal is supposed to be really obvious, that's all" he said. "And some of us are in places other than the tunnels, I swear, that's all the information they gave us. They didn't want us getting caught and snitching everything."

"Like you are?" Ash asked.

Tears started to gather in the man's eyes. "P-p-please, let me go."

Ash released his hands slowly from the man's throat, letting him slide to the ground. "I have no need for you anymore" he said. "I no longer need to keep you here."

The man, choking, scrambled away, before he was stopped by a mysterious purple light, and lifted into the air.

Frowning, he turned around. "My friend here, however, has a special bone to pick with just about anyone affiliated with your bosses" he said, it apparent in his voice that he didn't approve of Mewtwo's bloodlust against the Rockets.

Mewtwo looked over at Ash. "I will take him away from here" he said, floating into the air. "That way, I don't make a mess."

Facepalming, Ash linked with Mewtwo's mind swiftly. " _I know how you feel about them, but don't be cruel about it_ " he said. " _All the Rockets associated with making you are long gone, he just works for under the same name. If you have to do this, and I can't stop you, then don't draw it out."_

" _Fine"_ Mewtwo huffed. " _I will make this swift."_ Then he smirked. " _But I can't promise that it will feel that way to him. I won't do this often, for your sake, but I must get it out of my system."_

Ash shook his head as Mewtwo took off out of the canopy, shattering the mental connection. "Should save it for the bosses" he said, shaking his head. Looking down at the ground, he sighed. "How did it come to this?" he wondered. "Having a homicidal Pokemon as my main partner in protecting the world?"

Sitting on the ground, on reflex, Ash reached into his pocket, once again missing the familiar shape. Another wave of loss hit him like a freight train, he hadn't realized how much that small piece of metal and fabric had been helping him keep it together, especially now.

Losing the ribbon was almost like losing May all over again. Closing his eyes, tears squeezing themselves out of the sides, Ash pulled his cloak and hood low, blocking out the world around him, as he let his mind free of his bodily confines, and began to wander…

 _We will meet again…_

* * *

 **Ok, not to brag, but I feel like that was one of my best chapters yet. I'm sorry if you wanted the meetup to happen this chapter, but as I said, I'm trying to pace this right. Would stories be fun if they were just "point 1, point 2, point 3, resolution?" I'm trying to make this feel like a real story. I hoped you enjoyed May's determination, Pikachu and Glaceon's moment, and the beginnings of the Team Rocket sub-plot. Drop a review, and as always, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time.**


	9. One Night Gone

_**Spearpoint Resort**_

* * *

"No, it can't be getting dark already?" May complained. "We just got out here."

"Pikachupi" Pikachu said.

"Ok, then it just feels like we just got searching" May corrected. "Even if we've been out all day."

May plopped down on the nearest bench. "Guys, I think that I jumped into the deep end of the pool here" she said as Pikachu and Glaceon hopped up beside her.

"Gla?" Glaceon asked.

"I mean, I didn't even have a plan for searching for Ash" May said, sadness creeping into her tone. "I didn't have any real way to search for him, I bet everything on finding something where we found the ribbon, but even that turned up empty."

People walking by payed her no heed, which she was fine with. The sun was touching the water, casting a dark orange glow onto everything as the shadows began to stretch. May let out a sigh. "The tournament is probably going on for less than two more weeks" she said. "If we don't manage to find him before our time is up, then… Who knows if we'll ever really find him?"

"Pika bi…" Pikachu said, ears drooping.

Glaceon stepped forward and nuzzled into May's side, prompting her to pet the little Pokemon. "I really don't want to give up hope, not in the slightest" she said. "But, I never had a plan to begin with. We have no way of tracking him down, and he probably wouldn't leave any actual clues behind. If he did, we probably would have found them by now."

"Pika" Pikachu noted, pointing at May's neck.

Reaching up, she felt her necklace, letting both halves of the ribbon sit in her palm. "Yeah, you're right, he did leave this" she said. She thought about it, how the ribbon she found there, she thought nothing of it at the time, but later on, it became the biggest thing that had happened to her in years.

May sighed. "I really do need to think of something, though" she realized. "Just walking around isn't going to solve anything, no. I need a plan, some sort of method to help me find Ash. I need-" she suddenly found herself distracted when something began going off in her pocket. Reaching inside, she pulled out the Pokedex, and saw that the time for her next match had been scheduled. She looked at the letters on screen, and felt her hopes drop further. "I wish I could skip out on these matches and just search for Ash full time" she said. "But, I couldn't just do that. I already don't battle with Ash's Pokemon enough as it is. Taking this away from them, after getting them excited like this, that would just be cruel."

"Pika…" Pikachu squeaked quietly.

"Glaceon…" Glaceon said, picking up on her trainer's emotions.

May reached up and rubbed her eye, moisture coming away from it on her fingers. "Hey guys, don't worry about me" she said. "Just because my mind keeps whispering all the stuff that could go wrong in my ear, doesn't mean that any of it will happen. Come on, we just have to really put ourselves to it, and we'll find him, no doubt about it! I'm sure we can think of something."

"Pika, Pikachu Pi Pikabi" Pikachu snickered. When Glaceon heard what Pikachu said, she had a tough time holding back her laughter as well.

May looked down at the yellow mouse. "What did you say, Pikachu?" she asked.

"Pikachu, Pi Pikabi" Pikachu said, miming it out.

May smiled. "Ah, you were wishing that Ash had some sort of bad luck like Piplup had with Gible's Draco Meteor, then it would be easy to find him" she said, chuckling a bit herself. "Well, I know Charizard would always greet Ash with a Flamethrower, but they don't exactly home in on him."

"Pikapi…" Pikachu muttered, striking a thinking pose, hand under his chin and eyes closed. He looked serious about it.

May laughed at Pikachu's behavior. She stood up from the bench, stretching her arms out a bit. "Come on, you two" she said to Pikachu and Glaceon. "We'd better get back before they begin to worry about us, you know?"

Pikachu's eyes snapped open and he hopped down. "Pika, Pikachu" Pikachu nodded.

Glaceon stepped down as well, landing lightly alongside Pikachu before walking up beside May. "Glaceon Glace" Glaceon said, sitting down right next to her.

"Good, now let's get home. We don't need them sending the Jennys after us" she said, noting how overprotective her friends could be.

The sun began sinking further past the horizon as the three of them began walking down the beachfront. "Although, we'd better hurry" May said. "At this pace, it's half an hour away. It'll be dark by then, so we'd better pick up the pace."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded, getting down on all fours, lightning bolt tail aimed straight up. Glaceon got into a similar position, leaning forward on her front paws, her tail pointing upwards as well.

"Well, if you guys are getting ready to run…" May said, kneeling down on one knee and placing her arms down beside her. "On my mark. Ready?"

"Pi!/Gla!" the two responded at the exact same moment.

"Go!" she said, springing forward at the same moment that those two darted ahead at high speed. When they looked back and saw that she was managing to keep up with them, they had a look of small surprise on their face. "What. you think that it'd be that easy to lose me?" she asked. "It's never that easy."

* * *

 _ **Forest**_

* * *

Ash felt nothing. Ash _was_ nothing. The only thing he could see, and the only thing in his mind, was gray oblivion. Here, even if peace couldn't exist here, as nothing else did, he felt at peace.

Which made it all the more annoying when, in some distant, faint part of his mind, he heard a quiet voice, growing gradually louder. He tried to ignore it, tune it out, but whatever it was, it was persistent. Eventually, he felt his being be whisked out of his peaceful realm, and back into the dim and the dark and moisture of the forest floor.

He opened his eyes, grouchy that he had to feel again. Pulling his hat out of his face, he saw two beings looking down on him. Latias, in human form, looked down at him worriedly, while Mewtwo, standing right next to him, looked at him with an unreadable look.

Ash frowned deeply. "Mewtwo, you've got a… little something… on your arm" he pointed out.

Mewtwo looked down at his arm, which had been coated slightly with some red fluid. "My apologies" he said, holding up his other arm and aiming a weak Flamethrower at the red patch, siphoning it off into the air.

Feeling queasy, Ash tried to push the image of what just happened, and how that color might have gotten there, from his mind. Getting up groggily, Ash glared at Mewtwo. "What was so important that you had to wake me for?" he asked angrily.

Mewtwo seemed taken aback at Ash's anger, raising his eyebrows. "You appeared in a weakened state, and Latias was worried about your condition" Mewtwo stated. "Your Aura is rather weaker than normal right now, which means that you are in poor shape, that is dangerous on a mission as high stakes as this."

"I feel fine" Ash growled, lying through his teeth. In reality, even with the crystals in his gloves helping him to maintain control of his Aura, he felt shaky, weak.

Latias looked at Ash carefully, seemingly studying how he looked. When she looked back at Mewtwo, he nodded. "Latias says that you appear malnourished and dehydrated" he stated.

"Well, that's incorrect" Ash protested.

"When was the last time you consumed nutrition or fluids?" Mewtwo pressured.

"It was… Uh…" Ash began to say, before thinking about it. He sighed. "Almost four days ago…"

Mewtwo wore a triumphant smirk. "See, you know you can't lie to me" he said.

"Yeah, whatever" Ash growled.

Ash heard a sound next to him. Looking down, he saw Riolu was shaking his head and sighing. "Lu… Riolu Rio."

"I am not stubborn" Ash said.

"Lu Lu Riolu" Riolu shrugged.

"Yeah, and what's that supposed to mean?" Ash growled.

"Do you honestly not know?" Mewtwo sighed, a pained look crossing his face. "Go grab some berries and get your strength up."

Ash thought about it for a second, then facepalmed. "The only berries we have left are Sitrus Berries, and we need those for healing purposes."

"And you didn't think to bring supplies other than berries for food?" Mewtwo asked. "And I thought you had grown intelligent since staying with me…"

"The constant jabs at me are getting tiresome…" Ash groaned.

Latias chuckled silently, while Mewtwo cracked a grin. "And you don't think that they were for me, between you and Mew, for the past three years?"

Shaking his head, begrudgingly, Ash muttered "Touche…"

Looking around, Ash sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll go see if there are any free spots at the Pokemon Center Cafeteria. I'm starting to run a bit low on Pokemon Food anyways, I wasn't expecting to have an extra mouth to feed" he said, referring to the baby Lapras.

"Hmm…" Mewtwo thought. "We could all use some recovering. I believe your Pokemon would enjoy some real recovery over sleep and berries, so they can be at their fullest."

"Yeah, I guess…" Ash nodded. "I really don't like being in crowded places…" he muttered. "Everyone is way too loud and complicated."

"Humans, yes, loud and complicated" Mewtwo said. "How they run the planet when us Pokemon can live in a simple way, it is beyond me…"

"Living in a bubble is not living" Ash agreed. He began pulling the small capsules out of this pocket. "Alright, everyone" he announced to his Pokemon. "Let's go get you guys in peak form."

One by one, he began recalling his Pokemon. Soon, everyone except Riolu was recalled back into their balls. Clicking the button on each one, he began shrinking them back down so he could store them easier. Once his pockets were full, he looked down to Riolu. "Ready, little guy?"

"Rio" Riolu nodded.

Seeing that Riolu was ready, Ash turned around and started walking out down the path. Approaching the edge of the clearing, be stopped as realized he was being followed. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Mewtwo and Latias were on his tail. "And since when were you two coming?" he asked.

Mewtwo started listing off on his fingers. "For one, you just said you hate being in crowded areas, two, we need to sustain our energy as well, and three, are we just supposed to wait around here for you to get back?"

Hearing the logic behind Mewtwo's words, Ash conceded. "Yeah, I guess that you're right" he said. "Well, come on you two. I just want to get things over with so I can get back to sleep."

At these words, Latias began to look worried again. Even Mewtwo looked apprehensive. "You've been sleeping much more often than usual ever since we got here" he said. "I'm one for rest and all, but this is an alarming amount."

"Since when are you so considered with my health?" Ash asked as he turned around and began walking again.

Mewtwo pulled his cloak up over his shoulders and wrapped his tail around his body, disguising himself as they began moving through the trees. "Ever since we're depending on your ability to battle and move to save scores of Pokemon along with me and my counterpart" he said.

Ash dismissed this. "Well don't worry about me, I'm not sick or anything" he said. "I sleep to block out the world. It makes it easier to cope with life when you spend less time in it."

Mewtwo used Psychic to clear a fallen branch from the path, allowing Ash and Latias to get through. "You've never resorted to this tactic before" Mewtwo noted. "Any other mission we've been on, you have hardly slept your normal amount."

"No other mission takes place this time of year" Ash muttered. "Trust me, when I take my 'vacation days' right around now, I do more than enough sleeping."

Latias glanced back at Mewtwo. Looking at Ash, Mewtwo spoke for her. "Latias still wishes you would tell us what is so hard about these weeks in particular" Mewtwo paused. "And quite frankly, it peaks my interest as well."

"You can find out" Ash said. "By improving your Psychic abilities faster than I can improve my Aura powers and reading it straight out of my mind."

Latias pouted as Ash said this, and Mewtwo remained impassive. "Expected response" he shrugged. "I should have taken more advantage of the days where you didn't know how to lock your mind."

"Too bad you didn't" Ash said sarcastically.

A few moments passed in silence as the four of them kept forging through thick brambles, eventually thinning out and coming up at the top of a hill. Bracing themselves, Ash and Riolu slid down the slope, while Mewtwo and Latias floated down. Stepping out from behind the shrubbery next to the path. Hardly anyone was around, as dusk was settling over the island. The faintest rays of sunlight tinged the horizon deep purple, while most of the sky was dark blue, illuminated by the full moon hanging there.

Riolu kept pace with Ash, jogging around and practicing his moves in the air. Ash watched with mild interest as Riolu leapt high in the air and delivered a kick, several small sparks leaping across his foot. As soon as he landed, he jumped once more, this time shedding sparks, but when he landed, he still seemed disappointed.

"You're getting really close, I can tell" Ash comforted the small Pokemon. "That move is really hard to learn, but it's almost there."

"Rio!" Riolu nodded, speaking confidently. Immediately, Riolu leapt back into the air and kicked out again.

Mewtwo watched Riolu's progress as well. "It would appear that the little one is attempting to learn Blaze Kick?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "It's a pretty useful move, and has a lot of power behind. However, it's a really hard move for Riolu to learn, since normally, it's almost impossible to learn unless it's passed down. But, every Pokemon can still learn those moves through hard work, and Riolu's been working on that one for almost two months now."

"Two months, and this is how far you've gotten?" Mewtwo asked.

"Learning moves outside of your elemental type might be easy for a Pokemon literally infused with the DNA of the ancestor of all Pokemon…" Ash began. "But most Pokemon have to work long and hard to learn a move like this that isn't hardwired into them."

"Touche" Mewtwo said, head following the small Pokemon as he sprang into the air repeatedly.

As the Pokemon Center drew near, Riolu sprang into the air one last time, swinging his foot around, and a blaze ignited around it. Flipping forward, Riolu came down on the beach with a scissor kick, striking the ground and spraying sand into the air, the patch where it had connected being molted into glass by the intense heat.

Riolu hopped back, breathing hard, but looking proud of himself. "Rio!" Riolu cried triumphantly. "Riolu, Rio Ri!"

"Hey, you pulled it off!" Ash congratulated. "Now, you have to keep at it now… I remember, I was helping… someone… learn a move once. Even after he pulled it off the first time, it was a long time before it could be used fast and consistently."

"Ri!" Riolu nodded, tensing his legs once again, before Ash held him down. "Ri?"

"But no more tonight. You've done a lot of work just since we've started walking. The rest of the night is to just relax, alright?"

Riolu stared at him for a moment, then nodded thankfully. "Riolu" he said.

"No problem, we all need a night off now and then" Ash said.

Mewtwo now looked to Ash. "How is it that you can just understand what they are saying if you don't speak the language?" he asked.

"Oh, you know…" Ash said, Riolu hopping up next to him. "For one, it's not that hard just to understand a 'thank you'" he said as he scratched Riolu's head. "Also, you can understand the gist of what a Pokemon is saying if you take the situation into account, and are able to understand them better if you've been around them for a long time, like Riolu and me."

At that moment, they walked up to the front doors of the Pokemon Center. Ash stepped forward and pushed the door open, holding it as Riolu, Latias, and Mewtwo walked in behind him.

There weren't many trainers in the lobby, although there were a fair few more than he had expected due to the time. Then he realized that it only looked late, and was probably only around seven.

"Hello there" a voice came from in front of them. Nurse Joy was standing behind the counter at the back wall. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. What can I do for you three this evening?"

Ash took a few Pokeballs out of his pocket. "Primeape, Rotom, Volcarona, and Lapras haven't had to do anything yet, so they should be fine, not going back" he thought. "However, the baby might freak of Lapras isn't there to calm him. She's bound to have a distrust of most humans just after that."

He walked forward and took out the Pokeballs containing Kirlia, Pidgeot, Butterfree, and both Lapras. "Hey Nurse Joy, I was wondering if you could do a check up on my Pokemon" he said, placing four balls on the counter. "He's a shy one" he said, pointing at the Pokeball of the baby Lapras. He set his Lapras' ball down beside it. "Take her out if you need to check up on her."

"Oh, sure thing" Nurse Joy nodded. "I've had cases of Pokemon that need comforting before, and I won't have a problem helping you out."

"Great" Ash said. He looked down and held out his arm for Riolu, who sprang up and jumped off his arm, landing on the counter. "Him also" Ash said, holding out Riolu's ball.

Riolu nodded and touched the button on the red and yellow striped capsule, whisking himself inside. He set it down next to the others. "That's all of them" he said.

Nodding, Nurse Joy took a tray out from under the counter and loaded all six balls onto it. "Alrighty then, I'll have them all finished in a little while here" she said affirmatively to him.

Ash nodded thankfully before turning back to the other two. "You two ready to eat?" he asked.

"Quite so" Mewtwo chuckled.

Latias nodded so rapidly her head began to blur. Mewtwo rubbed his temples as she did so. "You know, there's no point in being that loud if I'm the only one that can hear you" he groaned.

Latias slowed down, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Ash chuckled, before waving them to follow him back towards the cafeteria. "So how can you hear here and I can't?" Ash asked both of them. "I mean, Latias, if you have telepathy, shouldn't you be able to talk right to me rather than go through Mewtwo as a middle mon?"

"Hmm, how should I explain this?" Mewtwo mused. "Oh, here's a way your mind will understand."

"You put so much emphasis on _your mind_ " Ash muttered dejectedly.

"The way it works, is, since we are both powerful Psychics, then we can communicate without need for verbal responses" Mewtwo began to explain through his own telepathy, not that they were in a more crowded cafeteria. The three of them grabbed trays and began grabbing food to add to them. "It's different than telepathy is, it's more of a mental link that can be performed through Psychics on a similar level."

"I think that I understand" Ash nodded. "So since you can't use telepathy yourself yet, you can just speak to Mewtwo and have him communicate for you?"

Latias nodded as they pulled away from the food, their trays holding their food as they went to find a spot. They quickly found a completely free table with less people around where they sat down at.

"Do you think that you'll be able to use telepathy eventually?" Ash asked.

Thinking hard, Latias made the 'so-so' motion with her hand. "Eventually, probably, she says" Mewtwo fed what she was saying.

"Ok" Ash said, picking up a fork and taking a small bite of his salad. After swallowing, he looked back at Mewtwo. "You've never really spoken for her in the past, yet all of a sudden tonight, you're like the person that does all the sign language for the deaf people. Why's tonight so different?"

Mewtwo looked back at Ash. "Perhaps, it was because she was worried and had way to express it on her own" he said. "You don't exactly appear well right now."

"Not feeling the part either" Ash muttered, taking another bite. "You know, I haven't gotten any notice telling me when my next battle is yes, usually I get them the night before" he said. "You don't suppose something might have happened to disqualify my, do you?"

Mewtwo shook his head. "No, from what I picked up, the first three rounds are going to be spread out over two days each. Which means that you'll probably just have tomorrow off as well before your match."

"Lucky me…" Ash muttered. "I wish that they would just do things daily already. I can understand for the prelims and first round, but shouldn't the competitors be thinned out enough by now to make things happen once a day?"

"Humans have their own reasons for being strange" Mewtwo shrugged.

"Here here" Ash chuckled into his water.

"So, out of curiosity, who do you expect to use during your next match?" Mewtwo continued.

Ash shrugged. "Depends on who I get matched up against. I'm hoping that Riolu will finally get a chance to battle, and I'm thinking maybe Volcarona as well."

Mewtwo visibly sweatdropped. "Better hope that the stands are shielded with him on the field" he muttered.

Ash chuckled, remembering the last time Volcarona was in a major fight. "Was that seriously just a Fire Blast, or did he somehow find out how to use a napalm-based Explosion without knocking himself out?" Mewtwo asked. "I've never seen any Pokemon leave a Raikou with so many scorch marks, not even by other Legendary Pokemon."

Ash nodded. "It has the blood of a Champion's Volcarona running through him" he said. "He's naturally strong and hard-wired to battle."

"There's a difference between strong and nuclear" Mewtwo sighed. "Even _I_ wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those Fire Blasts."

"You know, I think he must have rolled around in a bag of Charcoal before eating a bunch of Fire Stones when I wasn't looking" Ash said. "His Fire attacks are scary to use."

At that moment, Ash began to feel a serious heat in his pocket, and he had a good idea about where it was coming from. "Feels like Volcarona knows what we're saying" he chuckled, even though the ball was searing his skin, through the thick shirt he wore. "He's either excited to prove himself, or just doesn't like being called scary."

"Hmmph" Mewtwo chuckled. "That one always had an attitude. He takes Fire Pokemon being hot-headed to a whole new level."

"True enough" Ash nodded. "And to think, he was so shy when he was only a Larvesta…"

"Even shyer than Kirlia, if I recall correctly" Mewtwo said. "He could hardly stand being around us and his teammates."

"Well, with how he acts now, I guess he's overcompensat-EOW!" Ash grunted as the ball seared like an iron in the forge. "Geez, I didn't mean it…" he muttered down at the ball.

"As I said before, hot-headed" Mewtwo muttered.

Handling the ball carefully, Ash set it down on the table, hoping that it wouldn't melt straight through. "And I'll be the first to agree with you on that one" Ash conceded.

The black ball glowed red, but luckily for Ash, Volcarona behaved himself, even if he got a bit temperamental, he wouldn't burst out of his ball and cause problems in the middle of a crowded room. "I'll let you out for training later, but only if you calm down so I can actually pick your ball up to leave" he said sternly to the little metal sphere.

The heat stopped rising, but the ball remained glowing red hot. Ash sighed as he realized just how long it would be until the thing cooled off. "It's a good thing that we're waiting for the others anyways" he muttered. He took a final bite of his salad before pushing the bowl away.

At that moment, he heard footsteps approaching his table. Looking up from under his hat and cloak, he saw that a man had walked up to the table. "Well hello there" he said with a fancy tone. "Now who are you?"

Ash realized that the man was talking to Latias, mentally facepalming as he realized just why he had walked over. Latias looked around worriedly as the man smiled at her. "Come on, don't be shy" he said. "Why don't you come hang out with me?"

Ash sighed. "She's mute, she can't respond" he said to the man. "And she isn't exactly looking for someone right now. May you please leave us in peace so we can finish our meal and go?"

Ash was hoping that his civil approach would entice him to leave calmly, but it didn't appear as such. The man turned sideways and shot a small glare at Ash. "And who might you be?" he asked.

"I'm her brother, Aaron" Ash continued calmly. "And you are invading her personal space" he noted as his hand rested on the chain, inches from her shoulder.

The man shrugged. "Who are you to judge me wearing that medieval getup?" he asked.

"It's not judgement, it's a fact" Ash sighed. "Arceus, I've always hated these types of guys" he thought to himself. "The only problem when Latias comes with me, people always pay her too much attention, and she needs help getting out without revealing herself.

"Listen, guy" Ash said. "She doesn't want to go."

Latias' eyes flicked to Mewtwo, and he nodded. "She just wants to stay here, enjoy her meal, and leave. So, if you would so kindly comply, then we will have no need for any form of trouble."

"Oh yeah? Who are you to tell me what she wants?" he asked haughtily. "What are you, he boyfriend?"

"Of course not" Mewtwo growled. "She is, however, part of our group, and we don't need any morons intruding on our privacy."

"Wha- moron?!" he asked angrily. "Let me tell you somethi-"

The man never had a chance to finish, because at that moment, he seemingly vanished. A split second later, a massive crash was heard, and every head shot over and saw that the same man had crashed headlong into the wall, creating a small crater on impact. Ash looked at Mewtwo with wide eyes as he stuffed a glowing purple hand back under his cloak. "You didn't kill him, did you?" he asked cautiously.

"Sadly, I held back" Mewtwo complained.

Ash glanced at the point where his body had plowed into the wall again. " _That_ was holding back?" he wondered.

"I didn't send him skipping all the way back to the mainland" Mewtwo shrugged. "I suppose that you're softening me up, I need my edge back sometime…"

"Geez, there are other ways to scare a guy off" Ash shook his head. "Maybe just trip him with your tail or something, once he would have seen that, he probably would have left."

"Idiotic humans get on my nerves" Mewtwo shrugged. "It was fast, simple, effective, and oh so enjoyable."

"Well, good job then, I guess" Ash chuckled. Latias nodded, looking at Mewtwo.

"You're welcome" Mewtwo responded, Ash assuming Latias must have thanked Mewtwo. "Now, let's finish eating and grabbing supplies before he wakes up and comes back to bother us again."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that" Ash muttered. "The guy's out cold."

* * *

 _ **House 394**_

* * *

"Hey, don't worry, May, I'm sure that we'll get somewhere tomorrow" Dawn said cheerfully. "It was only the first day, anyways. No need to worry."

"Ah, why'd you have to say that" May complained.

"Huh?" Dawn asked, confused.

"Whenever you tell me there's no need to worry, that's when I worry the most" May sighed.

Dawn sighed. "How did I not see _that_ one coming?" she muttered, facepalming. "Ash used to pull that one on my all the time."

Sitting on the ground beside them, Pikachu snickered at Dawn's reaction, while Glaceon chuckled lightly as well. Dawn looked back up at May. "So, nothing that could even be slightly considered a clue to where he is?" she asked.

"It's like he's a ghost, he's not leaving anything behind anymore" May said. Thinking about it, she reached up and touched the necklace she wore, which held the ribbons, her driving force. "But, if he's being so secretive, then why would he just leave this lying on the ground…" she wondered sadly. "Did, did he just want to get rid of it?"

"Uh-uh, Missy" Dawn said in a commanding tone, shocking May. "Just think about it, he goes into hiding for, what, three years, obviously keeps it on him the entire time, then decides that he doesn't want it anymore out of the blue? No, that's not it, he probably dropped it on accident."

"But, wouldn't he try to find it?" May asked.

"Maybe he did, but didn't figure out it was gone until you had already snatched it" Dawn pointed out. "If he's here, he's got battles too, and say his battle was late in the day, and he didn't miss it until after that."

"Yeah, I guess that's a fair point" May sighed in relief.

Dawn noted this. "You really care about him keeping the ribbon, don't you?" she asked.

May smiled sadly as she continued to hold his half in her hands. "Yeah, I do, it, it really means a lot" she said. "It's hard to explain, with just a ribbon-"

"Nothing needed to explain about it" Dawn said cheerfully. "I know just how important that ribbon was, to both you and Ash. Every time he had a Gym Battle in Sinnoh, heck, right before he went into the Pokemon World Tournament in Unova, he would always take out that ribbon, it was his good luck charm after all."

"He kept using it for that long?" May asked, holding the ribbon tighter.

Dawn smiled and nodded. "You bet. The only times he didn't have that thing right on him is when he went swimming, he didn't want it getting damaged."

Hearing these words from Dawn, a warm smile couldn't help but find its way sneaking onto May's face, brightening her outlook considerably. "Hey" she realized. "Maybe there's a way we can use the ribbon to help find Ash!"

"Huh?" Dawn asked, confused. "How?"

"Eh, well, I still need to work that out" May admitted sheepishly. "But if he kept it for so long, there's bound to be a way we can draw him in with it, right?"

Dawn smiled nervously. "Well, yeah, I guess that's always something that's an idea" she said. "But if you can't find him to get him to know where the ribbon is, then how are you going to lure him here? Besides, if you could find him, it would make much more sense to just talk to him, rather than use the ribbon."

"Hey, I'll think of something, don't you worry" May said confidently.

"Well you can't exactly do lost and found posters, the island wouldn't allow it" Dawn said. "They wouldn't want pamphlets coating every free bit of wall space."

"I've got all of tomorrow after my match to think about it" May said. "It kicks off at eleven, in Area 5, so I'd better turn in now."

"Really? That early?" Dawn asked. "Gary hasn't gotten a message, so his battle will probably be the day after tomorrow."

"Maybe that means you can all be there to cheer me on" May said. "That'd be nice."

"Oh, you know that we'll be there" Dawn said. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said loudly, pumping his fist. "Pikachupi!"

"And it sounds like Pikachu wants to be on the front lines" May chuckled at the small mouse's actions, picking him up. "You really think that you're ready? What if we end up fighting someone like Cynthia and her Garchomp?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said with a sound of superiority in his voice. "Kachu, Chu Pikachu Pika Chuka Pika!"

Whatever Pikachu said, it made Glaceon's eyes widen in surprise. "Glaceon!" she chided Pikachu. "Gla, Glaceon!"

Dawn looked on to them with a bewildered expression. "What did Pikachu even say?"

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Pikachu…" he muttered.

"Something tells me that we wouldn't want it translated" May said slowly.

Glaceon looked at May. "Gla, Glaceon Glace Glaceon."

May turned red when she heard this. "Really, Pikachu, really?" she asked.

"Pipipipi" Pikachu chuckled.

"Hey, care to let me in on all of this?" Dawn asked reproachfully.

May lightly facepalmed. "Glaceon told me the censored version" she said. "It was something about, if Pikachu had to face Cynthia's Garchomp and where he would plant an Iron Tail to make a lasting impression."

Hearing this, Dawn lit up red as well. "Well, yeah, we really didn't need to hear the whole thing then" she said.

May looked down at Pikachu. "Since when did your vocabulary turn into _that_?" she asked.

"Pika, Pikachu, Pika Chupi" Pikachu said.

Glaceon nodded and turned to May. "Glaceon Glace, Gla Gla Glaceon."

"I find it hard to believe that you've always been that way" May countered.

"I don't know, May" Dawn shrugged. "You should've heard some of the stuff Ash translated for Pikachu whenever he was up against one of Paul's Pokemon. I began plugging Piplup's ears whenever Pikachu started talking, for a while."

Pikachu smiled nervously and continued rubbing the back of his head, prompting the rest of the group to sigh. May laughed a little afterwards and picked up Pikachu. "Don't worry, Pikachu, we'll love you all the same, even if you have a bit of a mouth on you." Reaching to the pouch she had around her waist, she took out a small red and white packet. "Here, you can have this, and then we'd better get our rest. The sooner we knock out our opponent tomorrow, the sooner we can get back to searching for Ash."

Pikachu's eyes widened when he saw what she took out, and he broke out into a massive smile as he took it. "Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, nuzzling May's cheek as he tore open the packet of ketchup and began sucking the contents dry.

Dawn shook her head. "You're giving him sugary red sauce before he's supposed to go to sleep?" she asked. "Are you trying to make it so whoever you fight tomorrow has a fair chance at beating him? Because you're really killing it if that's the direction you're going."

"Hey, I know what Pikachu can handle" May assured her. "I want him cheery going to bed so he gets better sleep, that isn't nearly enough to give him any sort of rush."

"If you say so" Dawn shrugged. She looked over at the wall. "Well, if you were serious about getting a good night's sleep before your match, then you'd better go now. It's almost half past eleven."

"Yeah, it wouldn't make sense to stay up much later" May nodded, standing up. "Come on, you two, let's turn in for the night."

"Gla/Pika" the two said at the same time, hopping down. Pikachu ran into the kitchen real quick, returning soon after without the empty packet on him. "Pika Bi."

Nodding at the yellow mouse as he and Glaceon scurried up the stairs, back to the bedroom, May turned back around. "G'night, Dawn" she said.

"Sleep well, May" Dawn smiled as her friend walked up the stairs. Moments after she left, Dawn pushed herself up and stretched. "I'd better get to bed too" she realized. "If we're allowed to use May's matches as time to do our part to search for Ash, then we'd better make the most of it."

Leaning down, she pulled the cord on the lamp lighting the living room, plunging the room into a deeper darkness. The moon shining in the sky would normally be more than enough to light up the entire room. However, tonight, the window hardly let any light in. Looking out, Dawn saw the reason why, as the moon was blocked out by thick gray clouds. "Looks like we're in for rough weather tomorrow" she complained. "That can't be coincidence, May get's literally the entire day to look around, and we're probably getting rained out."

Sighing, Dawn shrugged in a 'what can you do' fashion. "Whatever, a little rain won't stop us from helping. We're already limited enough as it is. And now, to make sure we get all the time possible" she said, reaching up, and closing the blinds tight.

* * *

 _ **Pokemon Center**_

* * *

"You do realize how lucky we are no one saw that little Psychic stunt you pulled, right?" Ash muttered as the four of them left the building, Riolu having rejoined their party.

Carrying a brand new pouch of medicinal berries and a rather large canister of Pokemon food, as well as nutrition for him to keep his own strength up, Ash had made sure to restock big time. While he did somewhat enjoy the now almost foreign sensation of being well fed, he did not like being out in public more than necessary. He was hoping that the sustenance he had made sure to grab would last them at least most of the rest of their stay at the resort.

"You talk about luck as if it was the only factor involved" Mewtwo scoffed. "I knocked out any camera facing our way, made the movement subtle, and calculated it to the greatest extent-"

"You calculated giving someone a concussion" Ash facepalmed. "Why am I not surprised. At least it's a step up from being fully homicidal."

"I only react that way to Rockets" Mewtwo countered. "And for good reason."

Riolu and Latias' heads swung back and forth between them as they argued, like watching the ball at a tennis match, whipping between the two.

"I hate the Rockets more than the average guy, who hates them a lot, by the way" Ash said. "Yet I don't actively hunt them down to murder them."

Mewtwo coughed, trying to mask what he said next, but it only works so well when talking through telepathy, so Ash was easily able to make out the word "bone club."

"That was one time, and you've done far worse" Ash defended himself. "You seem to get a sick pleasure out of beating up humans."

"I only get pleasure out of doing such to the crooks, the likes of which are probably right under our feet as we speak" he said, closing his eyes. "Wait, scratch that, that is an honest maintenance man."

Ash facepalmed again. "Alright, fine, if you only enjoy attacking Rockets, then what was with that smirk I saw after you ragdolled that guy across the Center?" he asked.

Several moments passed by, and Mewtwo failed to respond. Now it was time for Ash's own smirk. "Gotcha in a corner" he thought to himself.

Latias glanced at Mewtwo funnily, sensing something odd coming off of him, but dismissed it as the two continued arguing.

"So, you just wanted that gnat of a man disrupting our meal? I was under the impression that you were the one that wanted us to be left alone while we were out" Mewtwo said.

"And there were less violent ways to do it that would have taken hardly any longer, yet you opted for making him a permanent fixture in the wall of a public area" Ash said. "Even if you didn't quite make it permanent. But that's beside the point. I saw you smirk, so quit denying it. I've already accepted you as a little homicidal across the board, so you can just come out and admit it."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "I am _not_ homicidal" he growled. "I have accepted humans as not having any reason to be hated, they did nothing to me."

"You enjoy attacking anyone who annoys you then" Ash mused.

Mewtwo's hand came out and he clenched it, electrical energy sparking across his knuckles. "Then explain why I haven't sent you for the same trip?"

"First off, you can lower your hand, you know electricity does nothing to me" Ash said. "Second, if you're the one who forced me back into public for a night to keep me in good shape, you wouldn't make me worse than I was before we went and waste the night."

There was a moment of silence, light steps and waves being the only things breaking the silence, before Mewtwo sighed and lowered his hand. "You can read me too damn well" he growled.

"No, just well enough" Ash said, just loud enough for Mewtwo to hear him, and watched with amusement as a vein began to pulse in his forehead. "Are you ok?" he asked with fake concern. "You appear stressed."

When Mewtwo's voice re-entered his mind, he could tell, he was seething. "Oh, I do, do I?" he asked slowly.

Ash shoved Mewtwo to the side. "Lighten up, you scientific wreck" he said with an undertone of amusement. "I mess with you, you mess with me, that's our cycle. I just happen to be slightly better at this than you, that's all."

Mewtwo uttered a low growl, almost a threat, but Ash could sense his tension dissipating. "Perhaps you should watch yourself" he said, sounding more like himself. "You never know, I may think of, some _other_ way to fight back."

"You won't hurt me and you know it" Ash chuckled.

A low glint flashed in Mewtwo's eye, and Ash became suddenly aware about how the light on the ground around him was distorted, and he suddenly felt much cooler. Looking up, he started a bit as he realized there were several gallons of seawater hovering above his head. He looked at Mewtwo cautiously. "No…" he muttered.

Another smirk crossed Mewtwo's face, and the glimmer of light that had appeared in his eye disappeared. Ash barely had time to dive forward before the water came crashing down on him, chilling him to his very bones, his skin becoming clammy from the sudden change in temperature. By diving forward, the water had missed everything upwards of his chest. However, he was still soaked from most of his back all the way down into his shoes. The front of his shirt, pressed against the ground, began absorbing water as it seeped across the ground, chilling his chest, but not dousing it like the rest of him had been. Pushing himself to his feet, he looked at Mewtwo in shock, and felt affronted when he saw Latias and Riolu were barely holding their laughter back. Mewtwo, of course, was chuckling lightly. When he saw Ash's expression, he raised his eyebrows. "What are you mad about?" he asked. "You're right, I wouldn't hurt you."

"Point, Mewtwo" Ash growled, standing up straight and grabbing as much of his shirt and cloak as possible, and wrung some of the water out. So much water fell out of his clothing that he could have almost filled a pool with just what he was carrying on him. "However, you just _know_ that I won't let that stand. You know I can find a way to get you back."

"Yeah, yeah, tell that to me again when you get your own Psychic powers and can drop an ocean on my head" Mewtwo said offhandedly.

At this, Riolu and Latias cracked up completely, Riolu sharp laughs cutting through the air, while Latias shook silently, tears streaming down her cheeks from intense laughter. "Hey, is everyone against me?" he complained. This, of course, only made them tone up their joy even further, and even Mewtwo began to laugh openly. All, at Ash's expense.

Ash took a sharp right, pointing out to all the others that had failed to notice where they were, that this was their turnoff to go to the campground. Tensing his legs up, he sprung up the slope in a single bound, reaching the treeline. He began entering the forest just as Mewtwo floated up the slope behind him. Since no one was around besides them, in a flurry of blue particles, the form of the young girl elongated into the white and red Latias. Grabbing Riolu beneath the arms, she gently picked him up and carried him to the top of the hill as well, before flying forward to rejoin the group.

Ash and Riolu stomped across the knotted terrain, while Mewtwo floated along behind them, and Latias flew above them, weaving over and under the branches extending out from the trees. As they went along, Ash reached up and unclipped his cloak from around his neck. "I hope this thing dries by morning" he muttered to himself. "I can't go out without it on." Holding it out in front of him, the angle allowed him to wring it out much more thoroughly, the saltwater splashing at his feet. He sighed. "Maybe if I hang everything up to dry tonight, I'll have them ready again by morning…"

"Or you could ask for a weak Flamethrower to burn off the excess water" Mewtwo offered.

"Heh heh, no such thing as just a favor out of the kindness of your heart, Mewtwo" Ash said. "If I did that, I would owe you one. Besides, if I get move of the water out now and hang them for the night, it'll be fine, so why bother."

"Alright, if you say so" Mewtwo shrugged.

Looking sideways, Ash frowned. "And I'll know if you doused them again" he warned with an edge to his voice. "Don't think you can scam me."

"Since when are you the paranoid type?" Mewtwo asked.

"I've been paranoid ever since I joined up with you" Ash countered. "However, I wasn't paranoid about _you_ until you made the water percentage of my body double."

"Touche" Mewtwo finally conceded.

At that moment, they arrived back at the campgrounds that they had taken up. The area was almost pitch black, due to a lack of light. Thick clouds hung heavy in the sky, brief patches allowing for bits of starlight to break through, very thin beams of moonlight occasionally shining through. Focusing, Ash felt his life force, his Aura, strengthen and swell inside of him, and the gems on his gloves began to glow and swirl, unleashing a dim blue glow, not much of a light, but in the extreme darkness they were in, they might as well have been floodlights. The entire field was lit up with the dull blue glow that was emitted from the Aura Crystals.

Getting the idea, Mewtwo and Latias sparked their own lights. Thrusting his hand forward, several solid objects, made of Psychic energy, streamed out of his body and began swirling in the air, as if orbiting some invisible cosmic body. Latias, on the other hand, began gathering a lightly glowing ball of pink mist in front of her mouth, before pushing it into the air, where it burst, lightly spreading beneath the silken canopy, courtesy of Volcarona.

Aiming carefully, Ash let the Aura stream from his hands, up into the mass of Psychic energies above him. It merged with Mewtwo's Psystrike and Latias' Mist Ball spread, adding the blue glow among the purple and pink. Mewtwo twisted his hand, and the individual Psystrike pellets, which had been lightly drawing in the Aura and Mist, flew up, landing themselves in the sticky webbing, and hanging there, almost like Christmas lights. While they weren't meant to be celebratory, the Psystrikes, as they hung in the web, maintained their glow, effectively giving them the light they needed to see without consuming further energy.

Ash let out a low breath as he stopped letting his Aura leak out, nodding at their handiwork. "This'll do fine" he said.

"What did you expect, we don't exactly like stumbling around in the dark either" Mewtwo scoffed.

"Shaaooo" Latias cooed.

"Ok, well we don't. You have the night vision then" Mewtwo said, correcting himself. "My bad."

"Coooo…" Latias cooed softly again, as she floated down and settled on one of the silk beds. "Shaoooo…"

Mewtwo nodded. "Good night, Latias."

"Sleep well, Latias" Ash called over.

Latias gave a small smile before curling up and closing her eyes, her wings down by her sides. Reaching into his pockets, Ash began to take out the Pokeballs he had brought with him. "And now, for the rest of you" he said, tossing them into the air.

Before him, Kirlia, Pidgeot, Primeape, Rotom, Volcarona, Butterfree all appeared on the ground, while Ash made sure to aim the last two, containing both Lapras, at the pool of water. "Hey guys" Ash said quietly. "It's time to turn in for the night. If you want to stay up, just be quiet, alright, but don't be up too late."

A chorus of whispered replies were sounded as they began to scatter, each taking up a small part of the clearing. Riolu stepped away from Ash, and walked towards Kirlia, who nodded and walked behind a tree, her special orb held reverently in her hands. Pidgeot, Butterfree, and Volcarona all flew up into the trees as they began to nest for the night. Rotom disappeared somewhere, Ash was never quite sure with him, while Primeape, after hooting what he was doing briefly to Ash, went to walk a little ways away to do some self-training before he turned in.

Sighing, Ash began to strip his soggy clothes off, wringing them out as best as he could before slinging them over a low-hanging branch to air dry. Taking his emergency space blanket out of the pack, he covered himself as he took off his soaked pants, so that he didn't freeze in the brisk night air. However, before he slung them over the branch, he felt something moving, in his pockets. Frowning, he reached inside, and he pulled out his Pokedex. "Oh, Mewtwo is _so_ lucky they make these things waterproof" he muttered. As he went to set it to the side, it vibrated in his hand, showing Ash what the movement he felt was. Turning over his Pokedex, facing the screen at him, he facepalmed. "Son of the distortion!" he growled lowly. "Really? _Now_ they send me my next match? This late?"

Mewtwo looked over his shoulder at the device. "It's not until one tomorrow afternoon, why the worry?" he pondered.

Ash shot a look back over his shoulder. "In case you lost track of time we spent at the Pokemon Center tonight, it's already almost two in the morning" he griped. "It's going to be a tight schedule if we want to sleep and arrive on time."

"You do realize you could sleep until five minutes before the match, throw on those clothes, and I could Teleport you to your arena" Mewtwo pointed out.

Ash let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right, but considering how much you whined when I asked you to take me down in the tunnels, I wasn't sure about it."

"That time, I was trying to make a point" Mewtwo admitted. "However, when it comes down to, _more human error,_ I can afford to lend you my power."

"Except that won't quite work" Ash said. "You can't wait for me to sleep until noon and then take me to the battlefield, we need you scouting the tunnels, remember? That last grunt told us that their boss was planning something, something big. If they were so confident about getting away with Mew on an island full of trainers as strong as they are here…"

"Then whatever they have in store for everyone must be quite potent" Mewtwo conceded. "However, the last I checked, Team Rocket had no more Legendary Pokemon under their control. That is the whole reason that they are after Mew, to use it to perhaps make more versions of myself."

"Hmm…" Ash thought. "There are always possibilities…" he said. "Remember when we dealt with those weird Pokemon with the weird crooks in the white suits, how they had the Pokemon with the mutated Auras?"

"Shadow Pokemon" Mewtwo recalled. "They called themselves Team Cipher, if I remember, but they said that they were supposed to joint with some Rockets. But we sent both them and the Rockets that came soon after packing."

"Not the point" Ash said. "What if they were still in contact with Cipher? Didn't a neighboring region near here have a problem with those Cipher goons once? If I remember correctly, Shadow Pokemon had really strong attacks. Even that little Seadra was able to give you a few marks."

"We can't rule out outside help" Mewtwo nodded. "Team Rocket hasn't shied away from borrowing ideas before."

"Gah" Ash complained. "Here I am, going off on this tangent, yet we don't even have a shred of proof or an idea of what they are going to do!"

"Then quit driving yourself mad, you're straining your already limited intellect anyways" Mewtwo sighed. "You should rest before you go completely mad."

"I won't be able to rest, now that I've got nothing but those stupid Rockets and Mew on my mind" Ash grumbled.

"I agree, both the Rockets and Mew are extremely stupid" Mewtwo nodded.

"That's not what I- ugh" Ash sighed.

Mewtwo closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Ash. "Perhaps a long-term Aura Link is in order" he offered.

Ash looked at Mewtwo in shock. "You do realize, that just now, _you_ suggested an Aura Link… With me?"

"As much as it wounds my pride to admit this…" Mewtwo said slowly. "I too am worried about what they have in store. What if they had a way to destroy me, or even worse, recontrol me. If we performed an Aura Link, then we would have instant communications to each other. Should either of us encounter something odd, then the other could be informed immediately." He frowned when he noticed Ash has spaced out. "Hello?!" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Huh?" Ash asked. "Oh, sorry, I just still can't get over the fact that you suggested an Aura Link."

"You know I would much prefer a Psychic Link, however, your powers are not developed in the Psychic area" Mewtwo said. "Even if the two do have much in common, they are very different. A Link is the best solution to our current problem. If we linked, you could tell me when to Teleport you to your field, and arosen problems would be easily dispatched."

"Fair enough" Ash said, finally nodding. "Have you done one of these before?"

Mewtwo shook his head. "No, but I know the basics, and you do them with your Pokemon all the time, correct?"

Ash shrugged. "Kind of. I'll link with my Pokemon so I can project my thoughts into their head, and take the need to communicate out loud away. But the only Pokemon I've managed to do a full Aura Link with is Riolu, where we talked, back and forth, I saw through his eyes, he through mine, my energy supported him, and so on." He paused. "I think it was because of Riolu's innate ability to control Aura that he's the only one I was able to do it right with. But you've used Aura too, right?"

"To an extent. I mainly utilize my Psychic powers, yet I have used Aura as an easier way to communicate for you, and for Aura Sphere attacks" Mewtwo explained. "I also have the knowledge of Aura, even if I haven't actively practiced in it. All of that together should be enough for a firm connection."

"It better be" Ash said cautiously. "There's a reason I haven't done a full link with the others. If I try a real, full link, and it fails, it can be very hazardous to both parties involved. Not fatal, but I'm not sure that I'd make it to my next match if something went wrong."

"I am confident enough in my powers that things will go right" Mewtwo assured him. He held up his hand. Rather than spark with sporadic purple energy like it normally would, the energy instead took the appearance of a calm flame, gently roaring over his fingers. The form of Mewtwo's Aura.

Ash rose his hand as well. Carefully harnessing his Aura, still slightly weakened from creating the lights, the gems began glowing, and similarly to Mewtwo, a blue flame lapped across his gloves. Nodding at Mewtwo, the two simultaneously pushed their hands at each other's chest, stopping short. Their arms lined up with one another, their Auras overlapping around the elbow, fusing together into what could only be described as a cosmic color. At the tip of their hands, the Aura remained the same, and steadily spread from fingertips, to the chest of their partner, and spreading slowly, far across the body, before each of them glowed the same color as the other's Aura.

A large spark leapt from both of their hands, at which they pulled back, feeling light-headed for a moment. Ash's vision was tainted purple, while Mewtwo's was tainted blue. When the two blinked hard, the coloration dispersed, leaving their vision normal. Ash looked at Mewtwo. " _Well, do you feel it?_ " he thought, barely pushing the message out at all.

Mewtwo nodded. " _It would appear that our efforts have been rewarded with great results_ " he stated. Mewtwo's voice, while still coming from his own mind, entered Ash's differently. Rather than be projected around him, every one of Mewtwo's thoughts that he meant for Ash to hear would go through.

Ash rubbed his eyes. " _Well, I feel much better now_ " he admitted. " _I think that it's time for the two of us to get some real rest._ "

" _I feel the same"_ Mewtwo conceded. " _Rest well, Ash._ "

" _As long as the hypothermia doesn't do me in first"_ Ash pointed out, letting Mewtwo know that he hadn't forgotten the water stunt.

" _Let it go, holding grudges will do you no good_ " Mewtwo said.

" _Oh, you're one to talk!_ " Ash nearly yelled, more in a joking manner than actual anger, however. He pulled the blanket up over him, remembering the chilly water made him remember his chilly body. " _Rest well, Mewtwo_."

Mewtwo nodded, having already voiced that himself. As Ash laid on the silken bed with the emergency sheet pulled over him for protection from the elements, Mewtwo slowly levitated into the air, coming to a stop, just above the treetops. Up at the very top layers, Mewtwo settled down, higher than the webbing that blocked their clearing from view. On normal nights, he would stare at the moon for a long time before the almost hypnotic glow would lay him to rest. He didn't know what, but something about the moon just…

Raising his arm, he allowed a powerful pulse of Psychic to fly forth. Moments later, the cloud layer split. The sky still hung heavy with the clouds that blanketed it, yet within the blockade, the bright crescent moon was visible. Huffing contentedly, Mewtwo laid back, relaxing, and looked into the sky, at the bright moon that would always seem to call to him, wherever he went…

* * *

 _ **House 394 (Next Morning)**_

* * *

"Well I certainly feel… Left out" May muttered.

Pikachu and Glaceon both came at her from different angles, from back in the house, shaking their heads. May sighed. "Well, I guess I can't blame them. I didn't let them help very much anyways. Still, clearing out long before I even wake up, it almost feels offensive."

Pulling tight, May finished fastening her bandana on her head, before reaching down and grabbing her Pokedex. Pikachu and Glaceon lightly stepped up beside her, waiting to see what they were doing next.

Flipping open the Pokedex, May looked at the screen for a moment before looking over at the clock on the wall. "My match is in about thirty minutes, and it's at Arena 5" she said, walking towards the door. "It will take us about half an hour to get there, so we'd better head out right now, then."

"Pikachu" Pikachu nodded, hopping towards the door.

Glaceon looked up at her trainer. "Glace?" she asked.

Smiling, May leaned down and petted her Pokemon. "Don't worry, with Pikachu on our side, we'll have whoever we're fighting good and knocked out easy, then we can get right back to searching for Ash."

Lightly smiling, Glaceon nuzzled against May's leg. "Glaceon, Gla Glace."

Walking over, May opened up the front door, Pikachu and Glaceon running out ahead of her. May stepped outside, and immediately shivered. Looking up, the sky was completely gray, the first time that it had been like that since coming to the island resort. The air was chilly, and seemed a bit more humid than usual.

"Probably a storm coming" May thought, shaking lightly at the thought, remembering that one storm, three years ago now, that had separated Ash from everyone and everything he cared about.

May wondered if it was a sign. If he left by the storm, maybe the storm would bring him back. Of course, she didn't like the idea much, the very thing that took him to be an omen of his return… It seemed less likely that it would be a good sign at all, and she suddenly found herself hoping that he didn't turn up today, fearing that even something as wonderful as Ash coming back could be marred somehow…

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I shouldn't even think like that for a moment" she thought, remembering how Dawn reacted whenever she had a negative thought like that. "I'll only attract what I think about, so no thinking about bad stuff."

As the three of them ran down a street, May noticed that in the distance, there were a lot of people gathered around a particular battlefield. Slowing down to get a look, Pikachu and Glaceon hopping onto the wall to get a look over the battlefield, May noted there was a double battle going on. On one side, a Girafarig and a Bronzong were fighting fiercely. Meanwhile, in the air above them, a Charizard flew through the air, raining fiery attacks down, as well as electrical ones. That's when she noticed the small Pikachu riding on Charizard's back.

The commentator for the match could be heard from across the beach, to where May was standing almost 50 feet away. As a combined Flamethrower and Thunderbolt attack struck the Bronzong down, his voice roared to life. " _After a powerful combination attack from Sparky and Zippo, Lucian's Bronzong finally bites the dust. This doesn't bode well for our Elite fighter, however, this is good news for Ritchie."_

May recognized the figure on the left side, in a simple suit with purple hair, as Lucian. In her journeys to achieve Ash's dream, she researched the Elite 4 and Champions a little, learning that Lucian was considered the strongest of the Elites in Sinnoh, a Psychic master, only second to Cynthia. The other trainer across the field, something seemed familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Pikachu, on the other hand, seemed to recognize the person known as Ritchie much easier, as he smiled and let out a loud " _Pika!"_ in support.

As they began to pass the battle, and they sped back up, May turned to Pikachu. "Do you know that person?" she asked.

Pikachu nodded as he scampered along the wall. "Pika, Pikachu."

"Gla Gla?" Glaceon asked.

"Pikachu, Pika Pi" Pikachu responded.

"You and Ash fought him once, a long time ago?" May asked, trying to grasp what Pikachu was trying to say.

"Pika" Pikachu nodded.

"Wow, he must have been really good for you to remember after all this time" May said.

Pikachu sweatdropped. "Pika… Pika, Pika Pi."

"Something about the battle ending?" May asked. "What happened?"

Glaceon turned to May, knowing that her trainer could understand her better than Pikachu. "Glaceon, Glace Gla Glace, Glaceon Glace."

Now it was May's turn to sweatdrop. "Wow, really?" she chuckled. "I heard that Charizard had problems back in the day, but I never knew about that."

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed in agreement.

After the group had gone around the island, May began to see the arena she was scheduled at come into view. A large colosseum style building, with a massive "5" emblemized on the very top was standing just a little ways off of the path, and May could tell that there were a ton of trainers inside. Keeping Pikachu and Glaceon close to her so that they didn't get lost, she navigated through the thick crowds, making her way towards the center of the building.

Emerging from the swarms of people and Pokemon milling around, May found her way to the stands near the battlefield, where it appeared that things were winding down. There was a mighty clash, Blizzard vs. Thunder, as two Pokemon, an Abomasnow and a Heliolisk, gave it their all in one massive attack. The two were evenly matched, and detonated, sending up a plume of smoke, as both Pokemon were left standing. Heliolisk's frills started flashing multicolored, before it unleashed a thin ray of energy, flashing the same color as his frills. Abomasnow crossed his arms, each one glowing in a shell of green energy, as it used Wood Hammer to block Heliolisk's Signal Beam. As the beam faded, Abomasnow leaned forward, ejecting several Ice Shards at high speed, which Heliolisk responded to by lighting up his tail with a metallic sheen, Iron Tail smacking them out of the air. Jumping through the debris, Heliolisk flew into the air, a ball of blue energy forming in his hands. Abomasnow looked in shock as Heliolisk rapidly approached with blazing speed, and before he or his trainer could react, unleashed a powerful Focus Blast, colliding explosively with the Alpine Pokemon. Standing shakily for but a few moments, Abomasnow collapsed to his knees, falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, Heliolisk wins!" the announced declared. "Since Jameson has lost two Pokemon, that means the winner of this match is Siguro!"

Both trainers recalled their Pokemon, before marching across the field, shaking hands, and declaring that they had a great battle, before departing. The announcer's voice crackled to life again. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, no one can deny, that was a heated match. The next battle will take place in ten minutes, please allow us the time to restore the field to a pristine condition. While we wait, here are the upcoming matches that will take place in the next few hours."

People started moving around, some heading outside, while others looked around for friends across the arena. Looking around, May didn't notice anyone she knew there. Shrugging, she looked up at the screen, she almost panicked when she saw a frame that was almost all red hair, recognizing the Champion Alder, but calmed down when she realized that she wasn't fighting him. It was close, two matches ahead of her, a Champion was scheduled to battle, but he wasn't battling her. She was pretty sure, battling a Champion this early on would have meant a good chance of eliminating her, and as much as that would afford her free time to find Ash, she didn't want to leave his Pokemon hanging like that.

Curious about who her opponent would end up being, she started searching the screen, having lost where she was located. Finding herself quickly, she looked for her opponent, but nearly froze when she found him. "Why..?" she muttered to herself.

Pikachu and Glaceon, both worried about the way that May was acting, followed her gaze, reacting immediately when they saw what she saw. "Glaaaaa…" Glaceon growled. Pikachu glared up at the screen, volts jumping off of his cheeks.

May's gaze hardened to the point where she could have shocked a Tyranitar into fainting. "What is _he_ doing here?" she growled.

* * *

 **I honestly wanted to have this chapter go further in the story than it did. However, it just wouldn't fit, because for it, we'd have to go through two matches and then a little more, and that would just be way too long. So, trust me, next chapter will be a major one. However, it may be a while before you can see it. It's Thursday when I'm posting this, and I start college on Monday, and that's gonna fill my schedule nice and full here. I'll find time to work on this, but I don't know how much.**

 **I slipped a little beginning of something into the story, but I doubt many if any of you will catch it. Feel free to speculate, because I didn't openly say what it is, and it's anything but obvious (I know, evil me is making you really delve in or be forever curious, heh heh).**

 **One last thing, and this is a bit of an announcement. I'm not sure how many of my readers ever got the chance to read the old fanfiction, by the author "Legendary Mew," titled "Time Can't Heal Every Pain." I know some of you did from reviews, but it wasn't exactly a well known story. It was a diamond in the rough, let's say, that got deleted when he deleted the rest of his stories. Well, after delving through several archives, I found a copy of the story, everything that it contained (the story went unfinished). Now, I would more than love to repost it, however, as I also do not want to get banned, I can't do it without permission from Legendary Mew, whose account is pretty much dead. That's why, if you want to see it uploaded, I need your help getting his attention, and asking for permission to repost it. Numbers help, but if anyone knows his new account, that could also be helpful. But please, let's try to avoid harassing him on the subject, alright? We aren't nagging to get out way, we're trying to get his attention so he even knows that we're asking.**

 **Beyond that, I hope you all enjoyed your chapter. Please, I always love it when a review gets dropped into my box, and also, I want to know how much my filler/fluff content is improving. I've never been the guy who excelled at filler content, my strong points were the main ones, so feedback on how I'm doing would be great. Have a great rest of the day (or night if you see this tonight), and I will see you all next update. Peace!**


	10. The Ultimate Offensive

**I'll save everything I have to say for the end. Enjoy your nice Halloween treat!**

* * *

 _ **Arena 5**_

* * *

 **MAY VS. NORMAN**

These three words, emblemized on the screen hanging high above them, had May totally frozen. So many emotions were swirling around just beneath the surface, that she could barely pick any individual one out. Fury, rage hated… Actually, most of it all just boiled back to anger.

She knew that he was here, she knew that all the Gym Leaders were supposed to compete, they were just obligated to as part of the whole Pokemon League Employment Contract, whether or not they cared enough to try more than enough to be eliminated in the preliminaries or not. However, it never once crossed her mind, not when Max mentioned that he saw him here, or when she fought another Gym Leader before, that she would be matched up with the single person she hated most on the planet.

"Dad…" she growled under her breath.

Pikachu glared up at the screen, scowling, static leaping off of his cheeks, occasionally coming into contact with the ground, singing dark piles of soot on the smooth tile surface. Picking up on the emotions of both her trainer and the electric rodent beside her, Glaceon growled low, each individual hail along the back of her neck hardening and sticking up like tiny shards of ice, however, it was nothing compared to the icy glare coming from the Fresh Snow Pokemon.

May's hands clenched so tight that if she had been holding a Pokeball in her hand, she was sure that it would be nothing but a pile of scrap. Her jaw was set stronger than a Steelix. "Of course, with my luck, I would end up, matched up with _him._ "

She wasn't sure just how much anger and hostility she still held towards him. Even though she hadn't thought about it in depth, some of her anger had abated slightly since she realized that Ash was still out there, somewhere…

However, she also knew that her dad was the main reason that he hadn't come back on his own. He was bound to feel bad about her fall, and even worse about believing he failed to save her. But if her dad hadn't reinforced the idea that it was all his fault…

Shaking her head, attempting to clear her thoughts, she let out a groan. She didn't feel like thinking anymore about her feelings about him. Maybe after she found Ash, maybe, but right now, it was best she just push through the battle.

Looking down, she knew that Pikachu was raring to go at him. The little guy blamed Norman for Ash's disappearance as she did. The extra power sparking visibly was proof of his readiness for a shot at his Pokemon. Her first instinct for a second choice would be Blaziken, but this tournament was for Ash's Pokemon, the battle lovers. Considering that she just wanted the battle to be over quickly, she knew who her second would be, as she reached to her belt and grabbed the Pokeball that contained Ash's Heracross. Type advantage would help to just get through the fight as fast as possible.

Looking down at the field, the workers were clearing off of it. She hadn't realized how fast time had flown by, while stuck in her own mind. Hearing the P.A. system crackle to life, she sighed in resignation. "Guys, let's get this over with…" she muttered.

Tearing their gaze away from the screen, it was easy to tell that Pikachu had fire in his eyes, a fire that didn't make Glaceon shirk away. "Kachu…" he growled.

Pulling themselves away from the screen, May, Pikachu, and Glaceon stepped down the stairs, getting into their position down by the arena. Sitting down on a bench, just outside of the entrance to her spot on the battlefield, May sighed, shoving her face in her hands. "Of course, out of every trainer on the entire island, and out of every arena and every day of the tournament, I get matched up with him, _today_ , out of all days. The second day I have to look for Ash, and he's here to taint it..."

Sighing again, as if it was an infection and she couldn't stop, she looked down at Pikachu. "Tell you what. Help me end this quickly, and I'll get you a bottle of ketchup."

Pikachu immediately shook his head. "Pika, Pikachu, PikachuPi!" he said fiercely.

"You… Don't want to?" May asked, confused.

Glaceon shook her head. "Glaceon, Glaceon Gla Glace."

Understanding the Fresh Snow Pokemon better than what she heard from Pikachu, she realized what Pikachu had meant. According to the little Pokemon beside her, he had roughly said "No need to pay, this one's on me."

This brought her a small sense of comfort. "Thanks for the support Pikachu."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded. "...Pikachu Pika?"

May chuckled. "Yes, you can still have some ketchup either way."

Pikachu grinned. "Cha…"

A loud booming noise reverberated throughout the stadium. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU FOR WAITING, THE NEXT ROUND WILL BEGIN, RIGHT NOW!"

Looking down, she and Pikachu nodded at each other. Glaceon hopped down off of the bench and stepped to the side, while Pikachu scampered up her arm and rested on her shoulder.

She was taken aback slightly at this. Pikachu almost never rode on her shoulder like he did on Ash's. But after seeing the fire in his eyes, she knew why he had done it. He was going to battle all out, and for that, he wanted to be in a familiar position.

Stepping out onto the field as she heard her name, she found that Norman was already standing across the field from her, and it was apparent, even from the distance, that he was just as shocked about having to face off against her as she was against him initially.

" _In this corner, we have May Maple, a star coordinator turned to battling. Folks, you'd better be prepared for a fierce battle between the Princess of Hoenn and the strongest Gym Leader of the very same region!"_

She was glad, at least, he refrained from the obvious, pointing out their relation. As if having the same last name in the announcement and on the screen wasn't enough.

" _Now, Trainers! Release your first Pokemon!"_

The screen flashed, and two closed Pokeball icons took place on it next to each of them. Holding her hand out, Pikachu took off, running down her arm before soaring out onto the field, cheeks sparking fiercely.

Norman was still in shock. "May…" he said.

"Save it, and send out your Pokemon" she seethed, just loud enough for him to hear. "Me and Pikachu have some steam to blow off, and it's either going to be your Pokemon here, or you afterwards."

Staring in shock at his daughter, he hesitantly reached to his belt and pulled a Pokeball off. "Uh, Vigoroth, come on out!"

Her father's ball opened, releasing his fearsome Vigoroth onto the field. "I'm sorry for this" she whispered. She knew her father's Pokemon and battle style well. His Pokemon weren't to blame either, but she wasn't just about to let him walk away without being defeated first, and for that to happen, she had to get through his Pokemon.

The screen flashed brightly, and the first two Pokeballs opened, revealing icons for Pikachu and Vigoroth. " _The combatants are set. It is now time for the battle."_

The referee nodded. "This will be a two on two battle. Substitutions will be allowed. The winner is decided when one Trainer has no Pokemon able to battle." He raised his flags into the air. "BEGIN!"

May didn't miss a beat. "Electro Ball" she said to Pikachu.

Nodding, Pikachu jumped into the air, tail sparking as the orb of energy grew rapidly. Twisting around, Pikachu flung his Electro Ball downwards, curving and dashing across the ground on a crash course for Vigoroth.

"Vigoroth, defend" Norman said.

Vigoroth did as told, and raised his arms in front of him in a defensive posture. The Electro Ball connected, pushing him back slightly, before detonating and pushing him back further.

"Now, use Iron Tail on the ground" May said. While Pikachu was confused, he complied. Tail glinting as harsh as steel, Pikachu slammed into the ground, cracking it and sending pieces of terrain flying into the air. "Now, bat them at Vigoroth" she followed up. Not missing a beat, Pikachu began spinning, whacking chunks of stone towards Vigoroth.

"Dodge them" Norman commanded, as Vigoroth proceeded to jump left and right to avoid the flying debris. The skidded across the ground, kicking up dust.

"Now" May said. "Thunderbolt!"

Appearing through the dust, Pikachu sparked intensely, before unleashing a massive surge of electricity, towards the Pokemon, helpless from dodging the prior attacks. The Thunderbolt attack struck dead center, shocking Vigoroth and pushing him back into the wall.

May frowned. "Are you honestly going to wimp out like this, let your Pokemon down because you're facing me?" she asked, disgusted. "Grow a pair, Dad, and fight back."

A chorus of surprised gasps and "Oooohs" rang through the audience as she said that, sparking quite the reaction. Frowning, Norman sighed. "May, I don't-"

"I don't care what you don't want" she said hotly. "After what you did, could care less. Now quit being a disappointment. I still have to live with your last name for a while longer, please don't make it embarrassing to have to do so."

For a moment, Norman failed to respond. Turning to the side, he looked at Vigoroth, who was massaging the spot where he connected to the wall. "Vigoroth" he said. "Use Crush Claw."

"Vigor!" Vigoroth roared, leaping back onto the field, charging Pikachu with blinding speed, claws glowing red.

"Hey Pikachu" May said, looking at the electric mouse. "Should we test out that move we've been learning on him?"

Smirking, Pikachu nodded confidently. Standing straight, she pointed towards the incoming Vigoroth. "Use Iron Tail to deflect Crush Claw and knock him back" she commanded.

Leaping into action, Pikachu rushed to meet Vigoroth, striking upwards with Iron Tail and knocking the attack away, before pivoting on the ground, swinging back around and launching Vigoroth into the air.

"Perfect, Pikachu" May said. "Now then, let's try this. Go, Iron Volt!"

Pikachu began concentrating. Tail still glowing, he began sparking with electricity. Leaping high in the air above Vigoroth, Pikachu let the electricity flow to his tail, and began spinning in the air, flicking his tail powerfully each time, unleashing disks of grey, crackling electricity. Each one connected powerfully, kicking up plumes of dust and battering Vigoroth into a corner. The last one hit hard, stunning Vigoroth in place. "Pikachu, end this now, with Thunder!"

Letting the glow of Iron Tail fade, Pikachu immediately amplified his electrical power, sending a surging blast of lightning high into the sky, before soaring back down, directly at Vigoroth. "Vigoroth, use Mud Slap to protect yourself" Norman called out, before the static remaining from Pikachu's steel-amplified Thunderbolt kept it from moving, just long enough for the massive bolt to strike him down.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" the referee declared.

Norman recalled his Pokemon, reclipping his ball to his belt, and stood there. "I don't have all day, you know!" May shouted. "This battle is two on two, so send out your second Pokemon already!"

She could tell that her constant pushing and prodding at her father was starting to upset him, but quite frankly, she couldn't give a Rattata's ass less about it. She reached down to her belt to grab Heracross' Pokeball, knowing what her dad's next Pokemon would be, but Pikachu looked back at her and shook his head. "Cha Pikachu!" he demanded.

Freezing, she nodded. "Fine, you can stay out, Pikachu" she said. Looking back up, she glared at the man across the field, waiting for him to move.

Before she could say anything, the referee spoke up. "Um, sir, if you fail to send out your next Pokemon in the next five seconds, I'm afraid that I'll have no choice but to disqualify you."

"Yeah, don't wimp out on us" someone up in the stands complained.

"We came here for a battle, give use one!" someone else shouted.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to disappoint your _fans,_ now would you?" May muttered underneath her breath.

Feeling the pressure seemingly from everyone in the room, Norman, looking uncomfortable, grabbed his second ball. "Fine…" he said. "Slaking, let's go!"

In another bright burst of energy, the ground shook as the massive ape-like Pokemon fell to the field. "Slaaaaa!" Slaking roared as he stretched out. Scratching his stomach, he grinned as he recognized the small yellow Pokemon before him. "Slaking!" he greeted.

Pikachu nodded. "Kachu" he waved. Gaze hardening, he gave the massive Pokemon a knowing look. "Pikachu Pi…"

Grinning again, this time more of a leer. "Slaaaak."

"Alright, Trainers" the announced shouted. "Continue, NOW!"

"Pikachu, use-" May began to say, before Pikachu waved his paw in almost a dismissive way. "What?" she asked.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said with a strong voice of courage. "Pikachu Pika, Pika Bi!"

"Gla, Gla Gla Glaceon!" Glaceon called out to Pikachu, a small hint of worry present in her voice.

May heard what she said. "Pikachu, you want to fight on your own?" she asked. "Without me telling you what to do?"

"Chu!" Pikachu nodded, paw curled into a fist, pumping it.

"Glace…" Glaceon said lowly.

"Hey, Glaceon, you don't need to worry about Pikachu" May reassured her Pokemon, kneeling down next to her. "Slaking is big and strong, but Pikachu is faster, stronger, and smarter. He'll be fine." Standing back up, she nodded. "Go get him, Pikachu."

"PiKA!" Pikachu nodded, facing Slaking with a ferocious glare.

Immediately, Pikachu vanished to the side, moving at an unseeable speed using Agility. Slaking looked around in confusion for his target. Behind him, Norman still commanded his Pokemon. "Slaking, use an Earthquake to trip it up!"

Reacting fast, Slaking raised a massive fist into the air, before slamming it down onto the ground, causing the entire stadium to tremble violently. Out of the corner of his eye, Slaking turned, and his jaw dropped open as Pikachu flew through the air, having jumped towards the ape with his speed propelling him. Spinning forward, Pikachu came down towards Slaking with a fully charged Iron Tail, bringing it down on the Pokemon's shoulder. Slaking roared at the contact and scooted backwards as Pikachu used his momentum to push his tail deeper in, before springing off of the massive body.

"Slaking, try a Mega Punch" Norman said.

Responding again, Slaking got up, leaning back on his hind legs, he began rushing Pikachu as he fell towards the ground, fist raised, glowing white. Helpless in the air, Pikachu tried to twist away, but was slammed into with a powerful Mega Punch, sending him careening through the air, body screaming at him from the impact with Slaking's fist, and the other impact with the wall at the edge of the arena. The stone cracked as chips of material pattered down on his head as he fell to the floor. Cringing, Pikachu pushed himself back to his feet. "Pika! Pikachu Pi?" Pikachu shouted.

Slaking huffed angrily. "Slaking! Slak Slaking Slak!"

"Pika!" Pikachu said defiantly, charging across the field, blazing with white energy from his Quick Attack.

"Hammer Arm" Norman said.

Fist glowing red, Slaking waited for Pikachu to approach. As he drew near, Slaking swung a heavy blow, ready to pound Pikachu into mince-mouse. But at the last moment, Pikachu somersaulted forward, tail striking to ground, and vaulted over the massive Pokemon. As he fell towards the ground behind Slaking, his cheeks sparked powerfully. Hitting the ground lightly on one paw, Pikachu swung himself around, and as his back paws landed, he sprung forward, immediately lighting up like a lightning storm, crashing into Slaking with a mighty Volt Tackle, sending the larger Pokemon sprawling.

Pikachu fell through the air, wincing slightly as he felt the recoil of his Volt Tackle, but shook it off and landed on all fours. Slaking was still reeling, feeling the effects of the powerful electric attack. Taking advantage of the Pokemon's temporary immobility, Pikachu decided to go in for the finisher.

Leaping above Slaking, Pikachu charged up another Iron Tail, falling towards it and swinging hard, knocking Slaking off balance, barely standing on his rightmost limbs. Time seemed to slow as Slaking slowly fell to the side, and Pikachu pressed his tail deep into his body. A spark leapt from his tail…

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu screamed, unleashing a massive Thunderbolt attack, conducted directly by his metallic tail directly into Slaking. The entire stadium glowed an extremely bright, neon yellow as the display became impossible to look at directly.

Pikachu stopped his attack, and let himself drop off of Slaking, panting and looking up at the Pokemon. Slaking leaned back over, landing on all fours, looking down at Pikachu.

"Slaaaa…" Slaking nodded, before collapsing to the ground, eyes unfocused. The ground shook as he struck.

"Slaking is unable to battle, Pikachu wins! The winner of this battle is May Maple!" the announcer decreed.

The crowd fell silent. Not only had that little mouse taken down the Vigoroth without a scratch, he had almost as easily taken down a Slaking ten times his size, without any commands from his trainer, in such a short amount of time.

Pikachu let out a sigh, dropping down and walking away from the battlefield. Nodding, May turned around, and she, Glaceon, and Pikachu left the building without another word, and without looking back at her father.

Stepping back out into the sunlight, May huffed. "I still hate that we had to fight him…" she muttered. Glancing down, she realized that Pikachu was getting a full check-up by Glaceon. He had a bruise forming on his back from where he hit the wall after Slaking's Mega Punch, and Glaceon was trying to help it with a weak Frost Breath, cooling down the patch. "What got into you out there, Pikachu?" she asked. "Why'd you want to go off on your own like that?"

"Kachu, Pika Pikachu PikaBi" Pikachu explained.

"Glaceo?" Glaceon asked.

"Oh, I get it now" May realized. "You wanted to defeat him without any help to try and embarrass him in front of a crowd." She chuckled lightly. "You might have done something. They couldn't believe that a little Pikachu took out his Slaking without a trainer working with him."

"Kachu…" Pikachu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Glaceon breathed one last bit of cold air over his bruise and nodded, satisfied. "Glaceon, Gla Glace!" she barked lowly at Pikachu.

Pikachu's ears drooped. "Pikachu…" he said.

"Hey, don't be too rough on him, Glaceon, Pikachu does know how to take care of himself after all" May pointed out, trying to defend Pikachu from Glaceon's extreme chiding. "I'm sure you remember, all the way back when you were an Eevee, when Pikachu took on that Regice and beat it. My dad's Slaking is nowhere near as powerful as that Regice was."

Glaceon looked back up at May, then to the side at Pikachu. "Gla…" Glaceon said.

Pikachu hung his head. "PikaBi… Pika?!"

Pikachu started as Glaceon leaned over and gave him a quick lick on the cheek. Looking at Glaceon, his cheeks began to turn red, outside of his pouches. Glaceon smiled at the little mouse. "Glaceon, Glace."

Even through the ball of stress that had weighed her down since she had been matched up against her dad, May couldn't help but smile at the antics between the two. Pikachu was so vulnerable to Glaceon's words, and even though she knew it, she could never really take advantage of it. The two were really close together in that way, able to interact in such fashion.

May remembered, she once heard that Pokemon can take on the characteristics of their trainers. The way Pikachu rubbed the back of his head while he was nervous, and the way he got more and more focused the deeper into a battle he got. Glaceon could get discouraged if she seemed to be having no effect on whatever she was attempting, but also wouldn't give up, especially when it came down to the wire. And then…

May sighed. She remembered, way back when, before Ash had left, while she was in Johto, she began to miss Ash. She had come to terms with her feelings long before Delia contacted her that she was seeing who could come for Ash's Welcome Back party, and she felt it just beneath the surface when she saw him again. She hadn't wanted to ruin her friendship with him, and with how dense he was, he probably wouldn't have known what she meant either. But when what happened that morning, up on the cliffs, went down, and she heard all that Ash had done for her, the only other time he had done something so drastic was to save the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of Pokemon at the Tree of Beginning. But she, she had her feelings for Ash, tucked just below the surface… And, she could have sworn, the looks Glaceon were shooting at Pikachu, and Pikachu's reaction, she felt as if the two had been growing even closer than they appeared.

Seeing that the stadium was far behind her, May decided to slow down, as she had been walking quite fast before in an effort to get away. Seeing how Pikachu and Glaceon interacted, gave her more hope. No matter what, it would mean more than the entire world, just to find Ash and bring him home. But if Pokemon really did pick up on their trainers' habits and emotions, then, maybe, Ash would also…

She shook her head. Before she went off and started daydreaming, she needed to find Ash first. "If I've already hit the lowest possible point of my day, things can only go up from here, right?" she asked to herself. "I can just feel it… Today's gonna be good."

Hearing her optimism, Pikachu and Glaceon looked up. "Pika/Gla" to two nodded in unison, agreeing with her.

Feeling the support of the two, May smiled. "Alright, you two ready?" she asked. "Because we are going until the very end of the day, no breaks, ok?"

"Glaceon!" Glaceon nodded vigorously.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

Suddenly, a low growl fell over the group. When it ended, Pikachu hung his head low, avoiding all of their gazes.

May stared, then laughed lightly. "Well, I guess we do need fuel if we're gonna go all day" she realized. "And we still need to get you your ketchup, after all." Her smile grew when she saw Pikachu's ears perked straight up at the mention of ketchup. "Breakfast, then we go out searching, then" she said, to the appreciation of the two next to her. "Alright?"

* * *

 _ **Forest (One Hour Later)**_

* * *

A sensation only comparable to the blast of an air horn thundered through Ash's head, directly inside, jolting him awake with a great pounding.

" _Gah!_ " Ash shouted, sitting bolt upright.

" _You know, now I see why you were worried about not making it to your match on time today"_ a voice in his head noted. " _You sleep like a petrified Snorlax, stuffed to the brim, in a coma."_

"Hah hah hah, Mewtwo" Ash grumbled. "What was with whatever you ended up using to wake me?"

" _Did you not hear my 'petrified Snorlax' comment?"_ Mewtwo asked. " _Babying you didn't work, you needed a good sharp shock to wake up."_

"Why not just dump another ton of water on my head, you're so inclined to do that, after all" Ash said, pushing himself to his feet. Remembering last night, he reached up and felt his cloak. A faint chill lingered in it from dampness, but it wasn't so drastic that it any liquid came off on his hand. It was dry enough to wear, at least. Pulling them, down, he began pulling them on. After he was done, he looked at his Pokedex, and groaned. "My match is in 5 minutes" he realized. "I'd need Pidgeot to get across the island in time now…"

" _Did you already forget our deal from last night?"_ Mewtwo chuckled. " _I was in charge of getting you up and to your match to keep you active in the tournament, I can Teleport you there."_

"Considering how you woke me up, I wouldn't be surprised if you Teleport me right into the surf near shore where my battle is" Ash sighed.

" _Are you ever going to drop the water?"_ Mewtwo inquired.

"Probably not" Ash admitted. Looking around, he saw that both Volcarona and Riolu, the two he planned to use today, weren't in sight. "Hey, Volcarona, Riolu, where'd you guys go?" he called out.

There was a muffled explosion, some rustling shrubs, and Riolu came walking back into the clearing, while Volcarona came flying in from above, landing in front of Ash. Riolu had obvious singe marks all over him, but he seemed to look all the more pleased for it. Volcarona looked tired, but didn't have any notable marks on his skin.

Sighing, Ash shook his head. "Guys, I can understand warming up, but keep it limited so that you don't completely wear yourselves out!" He closed his eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have told you two you were who I was using…"

The two looked abashed, and became very interested in the ground beneath them. "Am I going to have to choose two others now?" he asked.

The two looked at him worriedly, they had really been looking forward to battling. But he knew, tired Pokemon could cost him the match, and thus, cost him saving Mew. However, something flew through the air next to him, he could feel a presence swoop down by them. A dim glow of light flashed between them, and Latias came into view. Smiling at Ash, she turned towards Riolu and Volcarona. Pushing her hands together, a small ball of pink energy formed, and then she pushed it forward. The orb burst, and a wave of pink energy rolled out, washing over Riolu and Volcarona. As they remained within it, their eyes slowly filled with more energy, and Riolu's scorch marks faded, and Latias' Heal Pulse faded.

Ash smiled. "Thank you, Latias, you're a lifesaver."

Latias smiled again, flying into the air and circling around Ash. Picking two Pokeballs off of his belt, he held them out. "Alright, you two" he said. "Let's head on over. Return."

A thin beam of red light shot out of each ball, enveloping each of them and sucking them inside. Nodding curtly, Ash reached down and clipped the two to his belt. Those two were the only he was keeping on him, as they were all he needed for his battle. He didn't need to grab any of the others, they would only be staying in their Pokeballs anyways, they might as well be allowed to walk around.

Letting out a deep breath, he patted himself down. "Pokedex, Pokeballs, clothes, emergency berries… I think I have everything I need." Nodding, he focused his aura. " _Mewtwo, I'm ready. Send me to my match."_

" _Very well"_ Mewtwo responded. " _Let's see… That match took place, there, so if I can just get a lock on that spot…"_

While he listened to Mewtwo ramble to himself as he tried to find the location Ash needed to go to, Latias drew near to him. Looking down at her, Ash noticed that she was giving him a sort of pleading look. "What is it, Latias?" he asked.

"Shaaoo" Latias said, not breaking eye contact.

Ash blinked, then nodded. "Oh, you want to come with me to my match?"

"Shaaah" Latias nodded.

Ash chuckled. "Well, you'll have to stay hidden. I can't very well use you in my battle, and people would probably try to catch you if they saw you." A simple nod told Ash that Latias already knew everything involved. "Okay then" he shrugged. "It's always nice to have company."

Grinning, Latias began to glow with a soft light, shrinking down and falling to the ground, taking on the guise of her friend Bianca. Ash closed his eyes again, and thought about his link with Mewtwo. " _Hey, Mewtwo, Latias also wants to go with, so Teleport the both of us if you could."_

" _What do you mean, 'if you could?'"_ Mewtwo asked. " _Do you think that it's too taxing on my to Teleport one more being?"_

" _It was more asking politely than anything"_ Ash let Mewtwo know with a sharpness to the message. " _But if you thought I meant it that way, it must mean you have some sort of insecuri-"_

A disorienting event took place, and Ash's vision distorted, and he felt weightless. After a brief moment, when he felt himself stop moving, he blinked hard, shook his head, and looked around. He found himself standing on a beachfront, right near the water. Small crowds were milling around the beach, and no one paid him a second glance. He supposed people appearing out of thin air wasn't such an uncommon occurrence on the island with the presence of Psychic-Types, their ability to Teleport being well known as it was.

Approximately ten yards away, the sand was flattened out slightly, a white border drawn across the ground, marking a field. A large set of bleachers was set up on the side, overlooking the field. It reminded Ash of a volleyball court minus the net, though much larger to make room for the Pokemon that would be battling there.

Satisfied, Ash closed his eyes again. " _Thanks for the help, Mewtwo"_ he sent the message across.

" _Next time, I aim for the brine"_ Mewtwo warned.

Ash chuckled at Mewtwo's threat. " _Sure thing"_ he said jokingly.

" _You don't believe me? You'll see…"_ he replied ominously, before their current conversation ended.

Staring into space for a moment, Ash let out a low chuckle. "That guy…" he said, shaking his head.

Reaching into his pocket, Ash pulled out his Pokedex. Looking at the time of his match, he then looked at the current time. "Starting in two minutes then…" he said. "Well then, 'Sis,' want to head over to the field?"

Nodding energetically, Latias began walking quickly ahead of Ash, towards the sandy battle zone. Sighing at her seemingly boundless energy, Ash quickly followed suit. Just as his foot hit the ground, though, he felt something, off. A sort of negative energy, not emanating from Mewtwo's Aura Link either. A faint series of chills ran down his spine, but he quickly dismissed it. He was sleep-deprived, woken up in a bad way, and even worse, tomorrow was that day, the day, that…

Shaking off the demons crawling down him, he tried to clear his mind. Distraction led to mistakes, mistakes led to losses, and right now, a simple loss could cost the lives of scores of Pokemon living in peace. Taking a deep breath, he felt himself go almost blank. It was a helpful practice he had been using for a while now, dispersing his aura evenly throughout his body to balance out his emotions. He would use it when he truly needed to center himself. He counted to ten, before he opened his eyes. "Don't go messing up now, 'Satoshi'" he told himself.

Feeling more even, Ash stepped forward, walking after Latias, towards the field where the P.A. system was just crackling to life.

* * *

 _ **Bleachers**_

* * *

"Hurry up, Harrison, or we won't be able to get a good view!"

"I'm, trying" Brock huffed. "I think all that time around your snake Pokemon made you as fast as one."

"Maybe, or maybe I'm just in better shape than you" Lucy giggled.

The two rushed up the steps, getting a good spot as close as they could to the field. Lucy beat Brock to a seat and sat down quickly, staring intently at the empty field. Brock stumbled up the steps, panting heavily. "You, sure, are excited, about this battle" he said.

"Well why not?" Lucy asked. "After all, one of my best friends is having a battle here."

"Yeah, that's true…" Brock admitted. "Well, we got here just in time, anyways. Match starts in just a few seconds here..." he trailed off as he noticed the back of a large Pokemon standing below the seating. Shaggy, yellow and black fur, and near the Pokemon, a head of purple hair stood visible. "No way…" he asked. Standing up, he walked over to the edge of the stands and looked down. "Is that you, Paul?"

The purple-haired individual looked up, and Brock was met with a hard look. "Oh, hey there" Paul greeted. "Brock, wasn't it?"

"Yeah" Brock nodded. "I didn't know you were here."

"Well why wouldn't I be?" Paul asked, shrugging. He turned around and gestured at Electivire. "It's always necessary to improve, and watching battlers such as these in action would be decent training for Electivire."

"ELEC!" Electivire nodded.

Lucy walked up beside Brock. "Hey, how'd you know who's gonna be fighting here?" she asked.

Paul shrugged. "Heard it from Brandon" he said. "He's been trying to teach me how to keep my cool in battle, and he keeps saying that eventually I might surpass him."

"That's not all I heard he's been teaching you" Lucy noted. "Isn't he also training you to be his successor whenever he retires?"

"Yeah, but for that to happen, I still have to improve" Paul said. "Unlike him, I don't plan to lose even a single battle, if I take his position."

"You're the same as ever, Paul" Brock chuckled.

At that moment, the sound of crackling static burst from the speakers. "Oh, it's starting!" Lucy said excitedly, sitting back down.

" _Sorry for the delay, everyone, but we are now ready to begin! Contestants, please, take your positions now!"_

Across the field, at the spot furthest from where the two of them were sitting, a man in a dark garb, alongside a woman in a green skirt approached the field. The man walked into the box that marked the battler's position, while the girl stood a few feet behind him.

Brock blinked (you know what I mean). "Hey…" he began to say, looking across the field.

Lucy looked sideways at her boyfriend. "What is it?" she asked.

Rubbing his eyes, Brock shook his head. "Never mind" he said. "I just thought I saw someone I knew."

Seemingly ignoring what she said, Lucy grinned as someone walked onto the field on the other side. A young woman, clean white clothes, and lavender colored hair, eyes the same color.

"This'll be over quickly" Paul said.

"How do you know that, Paul?" Brock asked.

"Please" he huffed. "We've got some medieval costume lover going up against one of the most difficult to beat trainers through the regions. Anabel has rarely lost a match, beyond being a formidable foe with powerful Pokemon, her ability to communicate with her Pokemon silently trips up most any opponent."

"That is a fair point, but don't forget, every trainer on this island is a powerful one" Lucy pointed out. "Still, my money's on Anabel."

" _Alright, we are ready to begin. In this corner, we have none other than the Salon Maiden Anabel!"_ the announcer introduced. " _The leader of the Battle Tower of the Kanto Battle Frontier, she is well known across the world for her ability to battle without a word, and is one dangerous opponent."_

" _And in the other corner, we have her opponent, the enigmatic Aaron Satoshi! While he hasn't been one to reveal much about himself, he has proven to be quite to opponent, never coming close to losing any match thus far! Aaron has also battled silently through his battles. This could be interesting folks, neither contestant will know what the other is going to do."_

The referee stepped forward. "This will be a two on two Pokemon battle. Substitutions are allowed. The winner is decided when both Pokemon of a trainer are unable to battle. Trainers, send out your first Pokemon!"

Anabel pulled a Pokeball out. "Ok then" she said. "I'm counting on you, Metagross!"

A plume of sand flew high into the air as the massive metal Pokemon fell down to the surface. " _META!_ " Metagross roared in a metallic tone.

" _And Anabel's first Pokemon is her Metagross. What will Aaron send out to counter?"_

In his box, Aaron reached beneath his cloak, and came back out with a Luxury Ball. Holding it into the air, the ball burst open, and the light streamed out revealing…

* * *

 _ **Battlefield**_

* * *

"Let's go, Volcarona" Ash whispered.

The massive solar bug Pokemon flew high into the air, heat seemingly radiating off of his fiery red wings. Soaring back down, Volcarona came to a stop just above the field, hovering and blowing away sand with powerful wingbeats.

" _And Aaron comes out with a powerful counter in the form of a Volcarona!"_

"Keep stating the obvious, why don't you?" Ash muttered, focusing on Volcarona, and feeling him out, establishing the link between their Auras. Ash was slightly worried about the battle, but not greatly. He remembered Anabel, and her passion for Psychic-Types, which meant his best Pokemon, Riolu, would be at a disadvantage. Riolu was his go-to, due to his ability to control Aura, he could establish a full link with him effortlessly, which meant Ash wouldn't have to command so much as merely _feel_ what he wanted Riolu to do, like he and Riolu had become one, and acted on the same thoughts.

But in this case, he was more than glad for the telepathy his partial Aura link allowed with Volcarona. The combination of Fire and Bug would surely make short work of Metagross.

Across the field, Anabel studied the situation. "Hmm, he was right, this guy sure is hard to get a read on" she thought. "I'm normally pretty good at getting a read off of my opponent, but it's almost like something is interfering with my abilities. We'll just have to see how things go, then."

"Battle, BEGIN!" the referee shouted.

Anabel opened with the first move, as Metagross shot forward, forelegs glinting grey as it flew at Volcarona at high speed.

Ash recognized the move, it was one Riolu used frequently. "It's a Bullet Punch" he told Volcarona. " _Too fast to dodge, we have to defend. You know what to do."_

"CARONA!" Volcarona screeched, before spinning rapidly, large fireballs streaming out from his body, creating a storm of fire, blocking Metagross from connecting.

Metagross stopped before it reached the wall of fire, backing up. Leaning down low, the X on Metagross' head flashed brightly, and a stream of pale grey energy streamed out, colliding with the fire and detonating, clearing the cloud.

" _Good job, you're getting better with that Counter-Shield using Fiery Dance"_ Ash praised his Pokemon. " _Now time to fight back. Use Flame Charge."_

Flying low, Volcarona soared across the ground, bursting into flames as it was on a crash course for Metagross. As he approached, Metagross raised its arm, glowing red, seemingly ready to crush Volcarona when he got into range.

" _Roll to the side to come at Metagross from a different angle"_ Ash said.

Volcarona played chicken with Metagross, approaching rapidly, and just as he flew into range, barrel-rolled to the side, spinning around and coming at Metagross' unprotected side while he slammed down into the sand with a Hammer Arm where Volcarona would have been.

"Me, ta!" Metagross groaned as it withstood the impact from the flames licking its side.

" _U-Turn to get some distance"_ Ash commanded.

Cancelling the flames, Volcarona swung backwards, his abdomen coming up and striking the same spot, before pushing himself back into the air, high above Metagross.

Before he could get far, however, Metagross wheeled around, and the red eyes began to glow blue. Volcarona suddenly stopped retreating in the air and took on the same blue glow as Metagross' eyes, restricted by the sudden Psychic attack.

Ash could feel Volcarona being hurt by the constant force of the Psychic. " _Calm down"_ he said. " _Hit it with Flamethrower to break free."_

Still cringing, Volcarona's eyes slowly opened. Looking down at the Metagross, he opened his mouth, and let loose a torrent of flames. Reacting fast, Metagross let go of its Psychic hold, folded its legs, and flew up into the air, soaring over the Flamethrower. Then, still levitating, Metagross aimed its legs in front of it, and dashed at Volcarona, claws surrounded in a spiky yellow shell of energy.

" _Let's take them head on, Flare Blitz"_ Ash said.

Staring down the oncoming Iron Leg Pokemon with a fiery glare, Volcarona spread his wings, particles of flames raining down off of them, and began flapping them furiously, shedding them rapidly until they had completely engulfed him, before flipping forward and going into a steep downwards dive. The Flare Blitz and Meteor Mash collided, shedding powerful sparks. An explosion took place, and both Volcarona and Metagross were sent reeling. Volcarona shuddered as red sparks ran across his body, feeling the aftereffects of the Flare Blitz, while Metagross floated towards the ground, feet singed with soot.

" _Unbelievable"_ the announcer roared. " _Neither Pokemon are giving an inch in this fierce battle. Volcarona is using it's fiery attacks to full effect, yet Metagross just keeps coming back!"_

Ash could feel Volcarona. He didn't back down easily, actually, at all, but he had taken a lot more damage from that clash then showed on the surface. " _Roost now"_ he said.

Begrudgingly, Volcarona descended towards the ground, settling down on the sand, keeping an eye on Metagross. Letting out a deep breath, Volcarona began to glow a soft white light as it roosted, recovering some of the damage it took.

Seeing what Volcarona was doing, Metagross buckled down, lying low, and the X on its head glinted once more, and a metallic beam shot forth.

" _Dodge that Flash Cannon"_ Ash said.

Immediately, Volcarona soared back into the air, glow fading as it left the ground. Ash gritted his teeth. Volcarona hadn't had much of a chance to recover, but perhaps the bit of energy he did get back would be enough to last long enough. " _Let's try to end this fast, use Quiver Dance."_

Volcarona shot a look back at Ash at being told to use another auxiliary move. Ash knew Volcarona's style was an all out attack, but that wouldn't work against an opponent like Anabel. The extra power gained from Quiver Dance may give them the edge they needed to beat her powerful Pokemon. " _Just do it"_ he said.

"Caro!" Volcarona said defiantly, but all the same, began to sway in the air, green and red particles flickering around him as his wing beats grew steadily stronger. As Ash predicted, as soon as Volcarona began powering up, Metagross flew into the air, closing in at blinding speed, going for another Bullet Punch.

But this time, Ash knew he could dodge. The speed from Flame Charge and Quiver Dance would be more than enough to outpace Metagross' attack. " _Ascend"_ he said, and immediately, Volcarona took off, with Metagross hot on his tail flying through the air at high speed. He set his jaw firmly as he wasn't so much faster than Metagross that he thought. " _Looks like we can't play the defensive"_ he realized. " _Then let's try to finish things. Slow just slightly, let Metagross gain on you."_

Volcarona kept flying higher into the air, while Metagross wasn't giving in, tracing after the fiery bug with Bullet Punch out front. The two had almost flown out of sight, barely specks among the clouds. That didn't keep Ash from seeing the action, however, his link let him know exactly how close they were. Metagross was seconds away from making contact with Volcarona, so it was time to put the plan into effect. " _Dodge to the side, then dive, full speed!"_

For a moment, all was silent. A faint shriek echoed down through the field from high in the sky, and suddenly, a red glow formed, far away, growing gradually closer. Volcarona was diving, full speed ahead, wings shedding particles of fire like an inferno. They weren't enough to cause any damage, but they were a nuisance to the Metagross still after him. Ash felt a change in the aura up near the battle. Each individual type of Pokemon had a slightly different type of aura, and while he didn't know enough to pick out each type, he could tell when a different type of attack was being used. And seeing what Metagross had used so far, he figured that Metagross had abandoned the Bullet Punch for a Psychic move. Volcarona hadn't stopped moving, so it wasn't Psychic, and as they drew near, Ash could see a sheen of blue energy formed across Metagross' X, a Zen Headbutt.

Volcarona was seconds away from striking the ground, so it was now time to act. " _Now, use Fiery Dance, and aim it behind you."_

Volcarona began spinning rapidly, and the particles floating off of his wings intensified, growing in size as a swarm of flames began trailing off of the bug, and floating up, hitting Metagross repeatedly. Metagross was battered by the attack, dodging what it could, the heat clouding his vision. Pouring more power into his Zen Headbutt at Anabel's command, he bashed through the last of the fire, and dropped towards Volcarona.

The two of them were mere dozens of feet above the ground, and approaching fast. It was time for the final part. Metagross was going too fast to change course now, and Fiery Dance had weakened his sight. " _Don't let up the Fiery Dance, use String Shot, behind you."_

Still shedding fire from his wings, Volcarona tightened his abdomen, and a thick strand of silk began streaming out, and as he predicted, Metagross couldn't react in time, and became coated in it.

" _Even out, fly forward and avoid crashing."_

Spinning across the ground, turning the sand to glass, Volcarona soared forward, continuously aiming flames behind as Metagross crashed into the ground with a mighty _thump,_ and send a plume of sand into the air. Still fighting, Metagross struggled to move, as it was stuck in place by the sticky silk.

" _Finish it, right now"_ Ash gave the final command. " _Flare Blitz!"_

Wheeling around in the air, Volcarona stopped the Fiery Dance, the last embers floating towards the ground, before darting quickly at the stuck Metagross. Bursting into a raging inferno, Volcarona bored down on his target. Seeing Volcarona incoming, Metagross' eyes glowed blue as it attempted to hold Volcarona back with a Psychic, however, the attack wasn't strong enough to hold him down. With a final flap of his wings, the mighty Flare Blitz connected, and a massive explosion took place, masking both of the Pokemon from sight. Ripples of power flew outwards from the point of detonation, kicking up a vicious wind, and sending clouds of sand into the air, effectively blocking out the entire field.

Ash reached up and held onto his cloak and hat as the wind threatened to bowl him over, shielding his face from the particles of sand that tried to fly into his eyes. He could still feel Volcarona, but he couldn't tell just how much damage he had taken. He was already tired from the rest of the battle, but Flare Blitz hurt the user the more power it strikes with. " _Come on, hang in there"_ he pleaded.

The dust began to settle, slowly sinking down and merging with the ground again. Slowly, as silence reigned over the field, vibrant orange wingtips slowly came into view, and rigid blue spires before them. His vision cleared, and out in the field, the results were revealed.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen…"_

Volcarona had landed on the ground, red sparks coursing through his body. He was panting heavily, but still up. Before him, Metagross lied there, collapsed, silk that was singed black draped over its entire body, eyes swirled, and unmoving.

"Metagross is unable to battle, Volcarona wins!" the referee decreed.

* * *

 _ **Stands**_

* * *

"That was an intense battle" Brock commented. "Her Metagross put up a great fight despite the Type Disadvantage it had.

"This guy isn't half bad, after all" Lucy said, shocked. "Trainers have gone up against her before with Pokemon with the maximum type advantage. I remember once seeing her defeat a trainer using a Bisharp, Aegislash, and Absol, only with her Alakazam."

"Whoever this guy is, he's got some talent, I'll admit that" Paul said from below. "I wouldn't mind getting a battle with him… It could be good warm up for a Champion, should I get matched up with one."

"It's ok, Anabel will still turn this around" Lucy said confidently. "After all, with her Metagross down, she knows who she'll be sending out next. Her ace…"

* * *

 _ **Battlefield**_

* * *

Down on the battlefield, Anabel recalled her fallen Metagross. Looking up, she nodded at Aaron. "You're pretty good, not many can take down my Metagross that easily."

"..." Ash didn't respond. It was easy to focus on the battle, but it was much more difficult to interact with someone from his past.

Anabel's eyes narrowed slightly. "You know, you're a tough guy to get a read on. I'm usually pretty good about getting feedback on people by having a look at them, but you're more difficult…"

Ash blinked. Last time he saw Anabel, she was able to read a Pokemon's heart, and even communicate with them telepathically. This time, however, it seemed that she had advanced to the point of being able to read people as well. The thought froze him in terror, before he remembered, she said she couldn't get a read on him…

Glancing down at the gloves he wore, he remembered, that different powers tended to react poorly to each other. His heightened control of Aura most have done something to keep Anabel out of his mind.

Across the field, Anabel pulled out another ball. "Strong and silent type, eh?" she chuckled. "Well then, let's let out battling do the talking."

Throwing the Pokeball high into the air, the stream of light struck the ground, and expanded, into a small shape, about the size of a backpack. "Espi!"

" _Anabel's second choice is Espeon!"_ the announcer shouted. " _Will this powerful evolution of Eevee be enough to topple Aaron's powerful Volcarona?"_

"Let's find out" Anabel said, closing her eyes.

Espeon squatted down low, ready to pounce. Ash locked eyes with Volcarona. " _Can you still go on?"_ Ash asked. He didn't want to push his Pokemon too hard, but against a quick Psychic like an Espeon, Riolu would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Caro…" Volcarona huffed, nodding.

" _Alright then"_ Ash said. " _Roost for now, until they make the first move."_

Letting out a sigh, Volcarona slumped slightly, and began glowing with a soft, pale blue light. There was just a moment of peace, for Volcarona to rest, before.

Almost impossibly fast, an electric green sphere of energy shot across the field. Volcarona tried to dodge out of the way, but it was too slow to dodge it completely. The orb, rather than completely connect with his body, struck dead center on his middle wing on his right side, bursting into static electricity that coursed throughout his body. Volcarona shrieked in pain as the paralyzing effects of the Zap Cannon took place.

" _Calm down, Espeon is preparing another attack"_ Ash soothed his Pokemon. " _Use Flamethrower to fight back."_

Fighting through the electricity running through his body, Volcarona opened his eyes, and let loose a torrent of fire towards Espeon, whose gem had been glowing as she prepared a Psybeam. Reacting fast, Espeon let loose the Psybeam early, fighting back against the Flamethrower. It was a brief struggle, as Volcarona's attack power was upped from using Quiver Dance earlier, the power of his flames were augmented from the bonus of Fiery Dance, and Espeon had not had time to fully charge her attack. However, Volcarona was tired, and the Psybeam did manage to take the brunt off of the attack, making it hit Espeon minimally.

Suddenly, Espeon jumped high into the air above Volcarona, gem glowing white this time. " _Dodge with Quiver Dance"_ Ash said.

Doing his best, Volcarona began to spread his wings, but at that moment, static electricity coursed throughout his body, paralyzing him on the ground. Ash's eyes widened as Volcarona became a sitting target, and at that moment, the gem on Espeon's head flashed bright, and several streams of energy shot outwards.

Volcarona got beaten heavily by each individual Power Gem, all of them doing massive damage to the Pokemon. The last one struck dead center, and Volcarona was sent flying backwards, plowing through the sand. Coming to a stop at Ash's feet, he could feel the link shatter, as Volcarona fell unconscious.

"Volcarona is unable to battle, Espeon wins!" the referee shouted.

Ash leaned down and rubbed the head of his Pokemon. "You were great out there, Volcarona" he said quietly. "This is my fault, I made you use Flare Blitz too much and hurt yourself. If I had thought smarter…"

Sighing in resignation, he pulled out his Pokeball. "Return, you deserve a good long rest" he said, tapping the ball to Volcarona's head, and sucking him inside.

Putting the ball away, he took out his second one. "I wish that I didn't have to resort to him so early on" he thought. "But I know he can do it. No doubt."

"Riolu, I choose you!"

Tossing the ball up, Riolu sprung out into the open air, flipping forward before landing gracefully on the sand. Staring across the field, his fierce red eyes gave Espeon a good impression of what kind of battle she could expect. Turning around, he immediately nodded to his Trainer, pumping his fist confidently. "Ri Ri!" he barked.

" _Oh, this does not bode well for Aaron. However, while the types aren't in his favor, he has already proven himself formidable so far. Folks, don't count him down for the count just yet!"_

Feeling his Pokemon's confidence, Ash responded in like fashion, gripping his fist tightly and nodding back. "Let's show them that it takes more than type to bring down partners this strong." That's what he and his Pokemon were. Not just allies. Not only friends. Partners, equals, on every level.

And between Riolu and himself, they had a very close bond, one that he wouldn't allow any opponent to overcome. "Together, Riolu" he said.

Riolu turned to fully face Ash, sticking his hand forward in a sign of respect. "Lu, Riolu!"

The two stared each other full in the eyes. Ash's Aura sprung forth, and Riolu's palm glowed faintly blue, as did the gems on Ash's gloves. Riolu may not be able to master control of Aura until he became Lucario, but he was more than apt enough to link up. Ash and Riolu not only connected, their Auras fused. The Aura that had congealed on Riolu's palms expanded rapidly, flashing across his body before quickly fading away. Eyes brighter, Riolu turned back to his opponent, facing a very confused-looking Espeon and Anabel. " _They don't know what we just did"_ Ash _felt,_ conscious thought scarcely necessary. With Aura's combined, communication was effortless between the two. " _Let's use that to press our advantage!"_

At that, Riolu leaped across the field at high speed, white light trailing behind him, and before either Anabel or Espeon could react, slammed into the Psychic-Type, sending her backwards a few feet. Ash smirked, and Riolu immediately spiked Espeon down with a powerful Brick Break attack. At this, Riolu jumped high into the air, flipping backwards to place some distance between himself and the downed Espeon.

The crowd was silent. Anabel hadn't even had time to react while this Riolu attacked. Espeon got back up rather easily, yet looked at the Riolu with a newfound respect that she hadn't had for the Pokemon before. "Espe, Espeee" she said to Riolu.

Ash, while connected to Riolu, was able to pick up on what she had said. Riolu crossed his arms. "Maybe if you hadn't been so overconfident before, you might have realized that just being a Psychic doesn't give you an advantage over me" he retorted. "Of course I'll put up a good fight, and you'll know because I'm gonna knock you out quicker than you can say 'oops.'"

Espeon's gaze hardened. "We'll just see about that" she hissed. Hearing the command from her trainer, Espeon leaned low and fired a lightning fast Psybeam across the field, a multicolored stream of power.

Legs tensing, Riolu sprang into the air, sailing over the attack as it hit the ground behind him, detonating. Reaching back, he landed in front of Espeon, palm outstretched, shocking the Psychic-Type. Anabel gave a command, but before Espeon recovered enough to realize, Riolu's hand sparked, and a burst of energy flew forwards, blasting her backwards across the ground.

Espeon pushed herself back up. "How?" she asked. "You're Fighting-Type moves shouldn't be hardly scratching me at all!"

"I've seen your type before" Riolu yawned. "Just because you're a little more powerful than average with a good leader, you think that you're superior, and anyone without a good type stands no chance against you." Riolu clenched his fists, each one glinting grey. "Let me show you, Type, means, _nothing!_ "

Espeon began charging an attack, but Riolu moved too fast to let that happen. Rushing around the side of Espeon, she turned, and attempted to grab him with a Psychic attack. But before she could muster the power, Riolu slammed his fist into the side of Espeon's head, then slamming into her chest with his other fist. Unrelenting, he attacked repeatedly with a powerful Bullet Punch. Delivering one punch, he pulled the other one back, channeling the energy from both fists into a single hand, and knocked Espeon into the air. Not missing a beat, Riolu sprung up after her, and as he flew through the air, his leg began sparking. Twisting in the air, Riolu attacked with a powerful Blaze Kick.

However, the flames that had erupted around the attack faded before the kick reached Espeon, meaning that all that connected was a normal kick. Ash and Riolu's eyes widened at the same time as the attack failed. Espeon's eyes, however, narrowed, and glowed blue. A new sheen of power, not Aura, surrounded Riolu, restricting him, however, almost as soon as it took hold, there was a massive wave of backlash, rippling across the field, kicking up dirt, knocking Espeon back through the air, and kicking up a heavy wind around the audience.

Riolu flew backwards, spinning, and landing hard on the ground. A flash of pain flared deep in both Ash and Riolu, like an electric shock. Sharing a worried look with his partner, he groaned in pain. " _What was that?"_ Ash wondered.

" _Maybe, because we're sharing power…"_ Riolu offered. " _Aura and Psychic energies don't mix well, and since my Aura is so high right now, because you're sharing yours with me, it caused some sort of backlash."_

" _That would have been nice to know sooner"_ Ash thought. " _So Psychic powers have less effect on you while we're sharing power, but it is also very dangerous on our Aura when they connect. Not good."_

" _Don't worry"_ Riolu grunted. " _We'll just knock them out before they can try another Psychic attack. Any ideas?"_

" _Maybe…"_ Ash thought. " _How about…"_

* * *

Across the field, Anabel crouched low, kneeling next to her fallen Espeon, speaking directly to her heart. "Espeon, are you ok? What happened?"

Espeon blinked, not quite having the strength to get back up quite yet. "Something's there, something that doesn't like my Psychic attack."

Anabel looked across the field. "Could he maybe be one of those Zorua? That could explain Psychic not working."

"It worked alright" Espeon groaned. "But something reacted when my attack connected. I've never felt something like it before."

Anabel frowned. "Are you still able to go on?" she asked concernedly.

With a great force of will, Espeon pushed herself to her feet. "What, you're doubting me now?" she asked. "When have I ever let you down before?"

Anabel chuckled. "That's true." Across the field, Aaron's Riolu was standing back up. "We don't know if that will happen again. We should probably avoid Psychic moves for right now, just in case."

Shaking her head clear, Espeon righted herself. "Good plan" she said. "I'm not ready to go down just-"

* * *

" _Let's do this now!"_ Ash said.

" _Right!"_ Riolu nodded.

Immediately, both of Riolu's hands sparked, electricity coating them with a powerful Thunder Punch. Feet tensing, Riolu sprung forward, quickly closing the distance with Quick Attack. Jumping as he drew close, Riolu came down with wrath from above, fists coming down like lightning bolts.

Espeon jumped into the air above Riolu, twisting in the air as the gem in her forehead glowed pink. Aiming down, Espeon unleashed Dazzling Gleam, a large cloud of glittering dust flashing towards the ground, and totally coating Riolu. The attack struck, knocking Riolu down, at which point he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Espeon's eyes appeared shocked, before she sensed a movement behind her. Turning her head, she saw Riolu flying high above her. "How in the-"

"Never doubt a Fighting-Type again!" Riolu roared. Fists still coated in electricity, aura flared between them, and Bone Rush formed, coursing with the power from Thunder Punch. Spinning the electrical bone rapidly, Riolu dived at Espeon, swinging downwards and spiking her into the sand. Sandwiched between the bone and the ground, extra pressure was applied to Espeon, and the bone snapped, unleashing a massive lightning bolt that reached high into the sky, lighting the entire place neon yellow.

Riolu jumped back from the glassy crater that had formed, and Espeon lied there, unmoving. Smirking, Ash prepared to praise Riolu's excellent work, before an image flashed through his mind.

One moment, he was on the sand, experiencing Riolu's victory alongside him, and the next, he viewed a dark tunnel. Before him, he saw a swarm of Golbat, hovering in front a group of darkly dressed men, with an all too familiar symbol emblemized on their chests. He saw a purple arm extend, and the Golbat went crashing backwards, knocking over the men like bowling pins. Hearing motions coming at him from the side, he saw a Drapion rushing him, claws glowing dark in a Night Slash.

" _Mewtwo?"_ Ash asked.

" _It would appear that they've begun"_ Mewtwo responded, before frying the Drapion with a point-blank Fire Blast. " _Quite pathetic, I expected more from them."_

In another flash, Ash came back into his own reality, eyes re-adjusting to his surroundings. Even after a mere brief few seconds in the darkness, the cloudy day seemed radiant.

The announcer was declaring him the winner, but that didn't matter now. Nodding at his partner, Riolu came running over by him as they walked off the field, quickly. People were already starting to leave the stands, and Ash had a feeling that he wouldn't be too happy with the attention he was about to receive.

Quickly locating Latias, he sighed in relief. "They're starting" Ash said simply. Not needing any further words, Latias knew exactly what he meant. Her expression went from one of happyness and joy to one much more serious.

He pulled Riolu forward. "Can you help me out?" he asked. "I wasn't expecting to face someone like Anabel today. Riolu and Volcarona could really use a Heal Pulse."

Latias looked into Ash's eyes, asking a silent question. Ash nodded. "They're here, but Mewtwo's taking care of them. Their forces seem pretty weak, but we should get down there to make sure that no one slips past and gets to _him._ "

Nodding in understanding, Latias kneeled down in her human form, hand outstretched, a small pin orb floating in it. Slowly, she pushed it forward, the sparkling energy washing over Riolu, restoring his wounds that he got from the explosion and the energy he had expended in his attack.

Pulling out his other Luxury Ball, he nodded. "And Volcarona too, if you can" he asked her kindly, hitting the button to release Volcarona. It was at that moment that he knew, something was wrong.

"Huh?" he asked, as he hit the button again. The Pokeball refused to open, to release Volcarona. "What's going on with this thing…" he muttered, tapping the ball against his leg.

"Hey, what's going on?" he heard another voice call out from across the field.

Turning around, Ash felt his worry deepen. Not only could he not get Riolu out, Anabel could not recall her fallen Espeon. "Something's interfering with the Pokeballs" he realized. "What could it be?"

Chills ran down Ash's spine out of nowhere, reminding him of that old saying, about someone walking on your grave. The same darkness that he had felt, just before the match, made itself known again, and this time, it lasted a little too long to be dismissed as a bad emotion.

Riolu sensed something too. His hair stood on end, as he planted his feet on the ground lightly, gaze shifting left and right. Ash was suddenly struck with another terrible memory, back, long ago, at the Tree of Beginning… Lucario took the same stance when he felt something, and just after that…

" _Raaaaaaaaah…"_ a faint shriek echoed across the island.

This time, it was Ash's hair that stood on end. Everyone who had been watching the match was looking up at the sky, trying to see where the noise had come from. Looking down, Ash locked eyes with Riolu. " _I know that sound"_ he thought ominously. " _I just don't remember from where."_

" _All I know, is that there's some bad aura, coming this way fast"_ Riolu warned.

Ash gritted his teeth, as he realized Riolu was right. There was something, no, _three_ somethings, fast approaching, giving off a dark feeling.

A flash of light caught his eye, and he turned his head. Far out, over the ocean, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled through the sky. A sudden chill and warmth simultaneously blew through the area.

Ash turned around. "Latias, you need to go, _now!_ " he said.

Latias looked at Ash with a shocked look, mouth open in surprise. "No time to argue, you need to get out of here before it's too late!"

She shook her head defiantly, but before Ash could ask a third time, he noticed a third sound, among the rolling thunder and crashing waves. The steady _chop-chop-chop_ of machinery, quickly growing louder. And above that, the same cry that had echoed through the sky, moments before. " _Raaaaaaaaaah…!,"_ much closer this time.

This time, the cry came, with the remembrance of an old memory, one that used to haunt Ash, one of rolling foam, ice colder than death, and constant mortal peril. And of course, him, at the center, the center of Fire, Ice, and Lightning.

Another bolt of lightning struck down, much closer to shore, and as the glow faded, a swarm of 5 helicopters came into view, flying over the island, flying directly over their heads, away towards the center. But not before Ash got a good look at them.

 **R**

"Team Rocket…" Ash said. "We need to-"

"RI!" Riolu shouted, jumping forward and tackling Ash, hard, sending him flying out of the way, just as a bolt of ice went racing past.

" _RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_ a loud shriek sounded above their heads.

Utter pandemonium took place, and everyone fled in every direction away from the powerful Pokemon that appeared in the sky, launching attacks down at them. Even as he watched, powerful Ice Beams narrowly missed innocent people, tripping them up, yet luck was on their side. So far...

Ash gasped. "No, NO!" He looked up at the majestic bird. Brandishing his arms wide, he looked up at Articuno. "I thought you were past this destruction!" he roared.

Glaring down at him, Articuno's gaze shifted to Riolu, standing next to him. Unleashing another unearthly shriek, Articuno's mouth opened, and several ribbons of frosty energy leapt forth, on a crash course for Riolu, who barely dodged to the side before where he stood became a jagged spire of ice.

Reacting off of instincts, Ash and Riolu worked together. Ash's gloves began glowing, as he funneled his energy into an Aura Sphere, while Riolu concentrated behind him, gathering energy into a pale blue Focus Blast. At the same time, the two of them launched their attacks, spinning through the air before colliding with the Legendary Pokemon.

Ash ran forward, to the edge of the water, as close as he could get to Articuno. "Articuno! Why are you doing this?"

Articuno seemed not to have heard Ash, instead spreading her wings wide, each one flashing metallic grey, before swooping low, dive bombing him and Riolu at high speed. Once again, the two of them were forced to dive out of the way, barely keeping their lives as Articuno swooped past them with Steel Wing

Articuno wheeled around after the attack, landing on the ground facing towards them, and shrieked at them again.

There was no doubt in Ash's mind anymore. This Articuno, it wasn't a normal one, this was the ruler of Ice Island, probably the most powerful Articuno that existed in the world. There was no mistaking it. Any other one he had encountered, it didn't have the same aura of power that this one did. And now that it was nearer to him, Ash noticed that something was wrong. Before he could ponder it, he and Riolu dived to the side for a third time to avoid becoming ice sculptures.

Getting back up, scraping the sand off his leg, he tried to pinpoint what had happened. Far away from him, a bright light flashed in the sky. Eyes widening, Ash realized, Articuno wasn't here alone. Far across the island, Zapdos was raining down powerful lightning strikes, and beyond that, Moltres was circling through the air, occasionally unleashed powerful bursts of fire, so intense that Ash was sure he could feel the heat from here.

He was now sure of something else. These three were the sources of bad aura he had anticipated earlier, the ones he had thought were only some bad feelings. Articuno had a harsh glare as she stared down Ash, one more frigid and deadly than the ice she had fired before. Even way back when these three were out of control, they never had this expression of intense hatred. The darkened aura rolled off of Articuno in waves, and Ash's keen eyes could almost see it, a red glow surrounding her.

"What happened to you?" Ash demanded. "This isn't what you three are supposed to be doing!"

Articuno brandished her wings, unleashing an even more unearthly shriek than before, the sheer force of the sound enough to push Ash and Riolu back. "This, isn't, Articuno" he grunted to Riolu. "We saw her the last time we went to the Orange Islands to meet up with Lugia. And now, she's acting like we're total enemies. All three of them are."

"Olu…" Riolu agreed.

Articuno twitched, wings crossing in front of her. The temperature in the area dropped several degrees as frost began to form around her. Spreading them wide, Articuno swung forward, and a gale force of ice came flying at them.

The effect of Blizzard was far too wide for them to have any hope of escaping it. Moving fast, Ash crouched down in front of Riolu, using his body as a human shield. Riolu struggled to break free, not wanting to let him take the brunt of the attack. Looking behind him, he shut his eyes tight seconds before the Blizzard washed over him.

Then it never came.

After a few moments, Ash realized that by now, he should have been frosted over. Opening his eyes, all he could see was a green light in the middle of the white flurries, guarding them from the attack.

As both the Blizzard and the light faded, Ash's eyes widened at the scene. " _ELEC!"_ Electivire roared in challenge to Articuno. And then, he became aware of someone standing right next to the Electivire.

"Paul?" Ash asked in shock, under his breath.

The purple-haired trainer glanced over his shoulder. "Aaron, right?" he asked.

Still filled with surprise, Ash merely nodded. Paul turned around. "Judging by how you've been handling things, I'm guessing you must have some idea about what's going on here. You need to fill me in later, but for now…" he said as he turned back to Articuno. "It would appear you could use some backup.

Getting over his surprise, Ash and Riolu walked up, standing beside Paul and Electivire. "You're, helping me?" he asked.

"Look, you're a good trainer, I can tell by how you handled Anabel out there" Paul said. "But the threat of a Legendary Pokemon attack is too much for one person to handle without a Legendary Pokemon of your own. I only know two trainers who own Legendary Pokemon, and neither of them are close enough to help."

"Even if they were, they couldn't" Ash said. "Something's jamming the Pokeballs."

"I noticed, I have a Magmortar which would have been just as effective to use here, but I couldn't call on him."

Ash thought back to Paul's earlier statement about Legendary Pokemon. Searching around, he could tell that Latias had finally flown off. Unless she was hiding herself, Ash sometimes couldn't tell whether or not she was there if she cloaked herself, the Psychic energy could keep him from easily sensing her Aura. But he couldn't use her anyways. She wasn't trained for real combat, she came on these missions to see the world and offer company, which Ash was happy to comply with, but it didn't do much good here. And he wouldn't ask her if she could, either. She could get easily hurt going up against a powerful Ice-Type like Articuno, and if something happened, it didn't matter that Bianca didn't know he was alive. She would be able to hunt him down and skin him alive anyways.

Then there was Mewtwo. Mewtwo could stand a really good chance against these Pokemon, especially if he had remembered his gauntlet, which had been set with his Mega Stone. If he were aboveground, Ash could easily use the Key Stone he kept under his glove to Mega Evolve Mewtwo to help him. But the problem with that was if Team Rocket was here, and he took to the fight up here, then Mew would be a sitting duck.

Very few trainers had Pokemon left outside of their balls. Ash's Pokemon were across the island, and wouldn't be able to make it through Zapdos _and_ Moltres to come help. And if something happened to one of them, Ash would have to skin himself. He could always hope that there were other trainers who had been taking a walk with their most powerful Pokemon, but the odds of Steven riding in on his Metagross, or Flint's Infernape charging in with a Flare Blitz, were pretty low.

He and Paul were the only line of defense between Articuno and all the innocents nearby. He hoped that some powerful trainers were able to do the same to deal with Zapdos and Moltres…

Gripping his fist tightly, he reached down. Riolu mirrored him, reaching up, and connecting in a sideways fistbump. Linking back up so soon after the last battle was a little tiring, but they needed every edge they could get if they wanted to win. He and Riolu took stances, readying for battle. Riolu's fists glinted colder than Articuno, his Bullet Punch on standby, while Ash stretched out his arms, Aura solidifying between them and expanding, until he held a staff as large as himself, clubbed at each end, as he faced down Articuno.

Paul looked shocked. "What? How are you able to do that?"

"I'm not completely helpless on my own" Ash pointed out. "I have special training I go through."

"Apparently" Paul agreed darkly. "I'll hold back and do my most to help Electivire in the battle. You do the same, we can't let anyone get hurt."

"Right" Ash nodded. Articuno had been calculated, watching their every move without responding, so far, but he could tell, she was getting ready to pounce at them.

" _Just what have they done to you?"_

* * *

 _ **Helicopter 1**_

* * *

"Amazing, even I didn't expect the results to be _this_ astounding."

"The money was well spent, and somehow, you managed to find a way to improve it anyways."

"Thank you, Giovanni" a man, bald on top, but with great amounts of hair puffing out of the side of his head. "After all, you were the one that struck the deal to get what I needed for the experiment."

"That Kalos team can't resist the pull of money" Giovanni growled. "Yet, it worked in our favor."

"Even I, with my intellect as it is, didn't expect Mega Evolution energy to have such an effect. They are completely obedient to our commands, no deviations whatsoever."

"Yes, you can expect quite the raise when we return, Doctor Namba" Giovanni praised. "For, it would seem, you have just earned Team Rocket a sample like none other."

"The rarest of all Pokemon" Dr. Namba whispered reverently. "Mew…"

"None of it possible, without your work" Giovanni stated. "You learned of the unordinarily powerful Pokemon that lived in the Orange Islands, and managed to not only take control of them, yet allow the energy to enhance their abilities. They were already powerful, and now, they are even more so, and compliant to our every will."

"And I managed to develop the wave generator the disrupted the Pokeball system, rendering them useless to their Trainers" Dr. Namba added. "These three were used as precautions, of course. We designate them to target any free Pokemon on the island, to keep them out of our way, and to keep everyone else on their toes of course. The power of the signal won't last long, I fear. I predict that with the sheer range we are required to cover, we have ten minutes before the Trainer's Pokeballs unlock for them. However, that should be plenty of time to attain Mew and make our escape!"

"Quite so" Giovanni nodded. The helicopter began to descend towards the ground. "I have a large squadron of agents in there already. Any moment, they should return with Mew in tow. At that point, we take our leave. This time, we will _not be stopped._ "

* * *

 _ **Beach**_

* * *

"Electivire, Thunder attack!"

As Electivire built up a massive amount of electrical power, Ash and Riolu rushed forward, Riolu's hands glowing with power, and Ash was ready to use the Bone Rush by any means necessary to protect everyone.

He and Riolu charged forward, attacking straight on, but fell short as Articuno took to the air. Working together, Riolu grabbed onto Ash's bone, as Ash spun around and hurled it into the air, Riolu with it. The bone smashed into Articuno, and Riolu used leverage from the impact to swing up around the bird, taking the bone with him. Fists sparking, he performed just as he did against Espeon. Manipulating the bone to allow the electricity to course through it, Riolu slammed down on Articuno's back, using momentum to pole-vault high into the air off the bird, just as a massive, jagged blast of thunder raged through the air, striking Articuno and lighting her up brighter than the sun.

Letting his electrical energy fade, Riolu spun the bone through the air down towards Ash, who caught it deftly and held it out. Riolu landed lightly on top of it, before jumping off of it over Ash's head. Before he reached the apex of his jump, Riolu twisted backwards in the air, a ball of energy gathering in his hand, before flinging the Focus Blast up at Articuno, where it detonated in the air, shielding Articuno from view in a plume of smoke.

Ash spun the bone around rapidly, before setting it in a defensive posture. Jumping back up beside him, Riolu generated his own Bone Rush, before mirroring Ash's posture. With a great wingbeat, the smoke cleared, and Articuno reappeared, shrieking down at all of them. Beak opened wide, they barely had any warning before a massive Ice Beam was fired down at them. The beam splintered into countless strands, coming down everywhere, with no escape.

Spinning them rapidly, Ash and Riolu stuck their clubs forward, rotating them so rapidly that they became a solid wall of defense, catching all the Ice Beams before they could strike them.

"Electivire, Protect yourself" Paul commanded, crouching down behind the large Electric-Type.

"Electee!" Electivire roared, crossing his arms in front of him as a green bubble formed around him. The Ice Beam struck the barrier, frost forming around it. The attack stopped raining down after a few moments, but the effects were apparent. It took a Thunder to break the ice sphere that had formed around Electivire, which helped it, as the close range impact allowed Thunder to activate Motor Drive, enhancing his speed. Each bone was nearly turned to ice, so Ash and Riolu tossed them into the air, dissipating and letting frost crystals rain down around them as they generated new ones.

Even after taking their attacks and launching her own, Articuno appeared unscathed. Small spots on her feathers were singed black by the the electricity that had connected, but those were all the visible signs.

"Attacking this thing head on won't do anything quickly!" Paul shouted over to Aaron.

"I know, our attacks aren't doing anything. We need something else to weaken it" Ash responded. A light bulb went off in his head. "What if we attempted to Burn it?"

"A Burn?" Paul asked.

"I'm pretty sure that your Electivire can use either Flamethrower or Fire Punch" Ash said. "And Riolu has been practicing a Blaze Kick. A Burn could hurt Articuno badly, the power of one can make it more difficult to pour power into her attacks, and the pain saps health away."

"You do realize how difficult it is to Burn a Pokemon if the attacks have such little effect already, not to mention when the Pokemon in question is Legendary" Paul pointed out, before shouting a command to Electivire, blocking another direct Ice Beam with Thunder, managing to cancel the two out.

"Unless we have a way to Poison it" Ash grunted, hitting the deck as another went flying over his head. "We could get lucky with our electrical attacks and try limit her movement, but she'd be able to shrug it off easily. Articuno would have to find a way to-" he had to stop short as he pushed his bone into the ground, as Riolu did, pole-vaulting over an incoming Steel Wing. "-hit itself with an Ice Type attack to help with a burn, which could give us an opening."

"...It's worth a shot, I suppose" Paul admitted begrudgingly. "It's a good thing that Fire attacks are as good against this thing as Electric ones."

Nodding to Paul, Ash realized he had taken his eyes off of Articuno at the exact wrong moment. A swelling power was forming behind him, he could tell from the Aura. Looking behind him, Articuno had landed, and her beak was wide open. However, this time, rather than a cool blueish white ball of energy, an erratic, sparking, black and red ball was forming. The attack might as well have been an Ice move by the way it chilled his blood. "Hyper Beam!" he roared.

One thing Ash learned over the years. Hyper Beam was a very common attack. More Pokemon could learn how to use it than it seemed such a powerful attack would be able to, but that didn't change the facts. Hyper Beam was one of the most powerful, deadly moves a Pokemon could learn, and in the hands of a Legendary Pokemon, it was nearly always fatal. It was very rare to find an attack with more kick, and most of the time, it was an attack unique to an extraordinarily powerful Legendary.

And even though Articuno didn't have a move comparable to something like Mewtwo's Psystrike, she still was, an extraordinarily powerful Legendary Pokemon. "Guys, WE NEED TO ACT NOW!" Ash roared. There was no time to mess around with such a threat.

He and Riolu dropped the Bone Rush. They were of no use now. Sir Aaron's gloves began to flash brightly, much more so than before, as a cloud of Aura began to form in his palm, gradually falling into itself, growing more dense with each passing second. Riolu did his best to mimic, building his most powerful Focus Blast. Ash helped Riolu learn Focus Blast, because even though he couldn't use Aura Sphere yet, it was good practice for when he evolved.

"Electivire, charge your most powerful Thunder, now!" Paul commanded.

Electivire didn't even spend the time to shout. Immediately, his yellow fur began spark violently, and bolts of electricity began leaping between the two prongs on his back.

Not a moment later, Articuno opened her beak wider. No time left. "NOW!" Ash commanded.

Immediately, he thrust his Aura Sphere forward, directly at Articuno. Riolu also tossed his Focus Blast through the air. It merged with Ash's Aura Sphere, the two merging and becoming a single attack, more than double the size of the previous ones. Electivire stuck his hands forward, and a massive torrent of sizzling electricity sprang forth, enveloping the Aura Blast. The three attacks became one, almost looking like a comet, with the Aura Blast being the head and the Thunder being the shimmering hue and tail.

Long before the attack reached, Articuno leaned forward and unleashed her own gargantuan attack. The massive Hyper Beam supercharged the very air around them as the sparking red and black energy crashing into their attack. The moves stopped dead still for a moment, but it was no use, the Hyper Beam began rapidly pushing the energy back. Energy kicked up around Riolu, and he crossed his arm to the side, swiping it across his body and unleashing a Vacuum Wave, attempting to strengthen their offense and push the attack back, but it didn't do anything. Ash let his Aura flow again, sending extra power to both the Aura Blast that was fighting the Hyper Beam, and to Electivire, attempting to raise the power of Thunder. It worked, the power of the attack increased dramatically, but it was going wrong. Ash knew what was going to happen the moment before it did. The energy clash between the two attacks grew more and more violent, until it seemed to fall suddenly…

Ash didn't even have time to react, and neither did Riolu, knowing exactly what was happening also. Electivire didn't even have time to try and use Protect, before the clashing attacks detonated, rippling outwards, a destructive force emanating from the point of impact, blasting them all through the air with an almost _nuclear_ force. Ash's vision went fuzzy as he impacted the ground hard, and Riolu almost blacked out from a bad landing on his head. Electivire was sent flying, still using Thunder, the spare electricity shooting skyward as he crashed backwards through the air, landing on top of his trainer and sending them both sprawling, out cold.

Ash lost consciousness for a moment, temporarily blacked out from exhaustion. Whatever just happened, it shattered his link with Riolu, and that was extremely dangerous to their Auras. After a few seconds, he gasped deeply, sitting bolt upright as the air flowed back into his lungs. He looked around, everything out of focus. Far away, Electivire and Paul lay at the bottom of a trench, eyes both shut. Riolu lay on the sand several feet in front of him, stirring, barely getting back up. Articuno was off balance, but she was quickly recovering. Any moment, she would continue attacking.

Riolu was injured, even more tired than he was. Paul and Electivire were down for the count, and hopefully no further than that. And Articuno was still in top form. Ash didn't have a very good feeling about things anymore.

Pushing himself to his feet, Ash stumbled slightly, breathing hard. Riolu was barely beginning to move, scraping at the ground, trying to find something firm to prop himself up with half-heartedly. Immediately, as Riolu began to move, Articuno's eyes locked onto him. A harsh glare emanating from them. Articuno took the air again, and while Ash procured another Bone Rush as he prepared to fight for everyone, he began to realize that Articuno was doing. Ash she ascended upwards, her eyes glowed blue briefly, then two things happened at once. The air pressure seemed to increase dramatically as winds seemed to wrap themselves around her wings, while frost swirled within them. The frost was easily recognizable, Articuno showed the same signs earlier, when she launched a devastating Blizzard attack. He didn't know what the winds meant, but he had a bad feeling…

Which only grew stronger as he realized, Articuno wasn't looking at him. Riolu, still lying on the ground, was the target of the Legendary Pokemon. "No…" Ash gasped. Riolu was in bad shape, and such a powerful attack would be fatal.

He didn't even remember thinking it through. The flurries surrounding Articuno's wings were growing stronger, and his feet planted themselves deep into the ground as he sprung forward. Kicking up heavy clouds of sand, he rushed across the beach. Time seemed to slow down… Ash's feet slowly came towards the ground as he leaned forward, Articuno's wings opened, spreading wide, as a heavy storm of wild winds and frozen shards screamed forward. Ash's hands stretched out, grabbing Riolu's body by the shoulders. Spinning on the spot, Ash swung around, and with all his power, flung Riolu far across the beach, far out of harm's way. Riolu, was safe.

Then, he felt it. His feet left the ground, his skin grew cold, and a powerful pressure began squeezing him. With Riolu out of the way, he was the target of the attack instead. The power behind it, he couldn't handle it… The sharp winds whipped past him, cutting through his skin as if they were made of icy knives, leaving frozen gashes going through his cloak, and his body. The pain was cold, dark, and unbearable, and he knew, right then and there, he made the right choice, by not letting it hit Riolu.

He couldn't hold it back, he let out a scream of agony as the attack beat him relentlessly. The winds carried him high up into the air, practically slicing him to ribbons. He couldn't take it anymore. Out of nowhere, his body flashed, and a bright blue explosion lit up around him, knocking his mind for a loop. The attack was blasted away, and he fell towards the ground, already all but unconscious.

Before he hit the ground, the last thing he heard was the rushing wind. Before he hit the ground, his mind went to one last thought. " _I failed… But, now... I can see May again… Was… was this, how Lucario felt?"_

His body collided with the sandy surface below. He his struck hard, and with one whack, he was slipping off, staining the sand red with what little blood was leaking from his cold wounds, most of it clotting inside, gelatinous from the low temperature. Cold wind brushed his face, cementing the feeling of cold death that had come over him. High above him, Articuno let out a cry, shaking the very air. And before he completely lost consciousness, the last thing he heard, were several cries and screams...

* * *

 _ **Area 1**_

* * *

People ran every which way, screaming and diving for cover as chaos reigned high above them. The overcast day was extremely heated by the massive flaming Pokemon flying high above them, reigning down hell in the form of the most powerful fires.

Moltres reigned supreme over every creature beneath him, letting out fierce cries as he unleashed Flamethrowers, Heat Waves, Fire Blasts, and Air Slashes down at every Pokemon below, and even the people, it was utter chaos.

"SKRAAAAAAAAAW!" Moltres cried out, inhaling deeply, before unleashing another white-hot gout of fire down below, aimed straight at a lone Krabby.

Able to just _feel_ the incoming attack, the Krabby, shirked in fear, cowering and covering itself as the fire rushed towards it. And just before the attack hit, he felt himself whisked away, out of the attack's range. Looking up, he felt his claws being grasped in the talons of another Pokemon, and saw that a rather large Pidgeot had him, carrying him out of the path of danger. " _PIDGOOOOOO!"_ Pidgeot cried out, spinning around and depositing the Krabby far away, before ascending back into the air, wings spread in a fearsome posture, challenging Moltres. " _PIDGOOOOOOOO!"_

"SCRAAAAAAAAAAW!" Moltres answered in response, beak opened wide, unleashed a Flamethrower towards Pidgeot.

With a powerful wingbeat, Pidgeot soared high above the flames, using the heat from the attack so gain altitude far beyond Moltres. For a moment, her feathers glinted with a reflective light, before Pidgeot opened her mouth, and unleashing her own powerful Flamethrower through Mirror Move. Moltres didn't bother to move or flinch, the flames didn't even do a thing to him. After a moment, he gave a powerful flap, waving the flames away before readying another attack for Pidgeot, who had disappeared. There was a brief moment, a movement in the air behind him, and he turned around just in time for Pidgeot to fly forward, cloaked in a sparkling red-gold light, and be crashed into by the mighty Sky Attack. Moltres staggered lightly in the air before wheeling to face the Pidgeot as she flew past.

Moltres aimed and fired another Flamethrower as Pidgeot cooled down from the Sky Attack. And just as it left his mouth…

A massive stream of water streamed straight up, blocking the Flamethrower. A wall of steam filled the sky, slightly shocking the Moltres.

Down below, an Ice Beam skated across the ground, spreading a smooth ice road across the roar and beach. Rotom and Butterfree darted through the air, low below the Moltres, but wheeled around at the edge of the beach to face it. Skating across the ice, Lapras slid quickly, Primeape and Kirlia riding on her back, hopping off as she came to a halt.

Moltres' gaze became more furious as the group of opposing Pokemon beneath him swelled dramatically. A powerful glare was directed solely at Lapras, whose Hydro Pump had stopped his attack dead in its tracks. The flames on his wings grew much stronger, and a massive Heat Wave radiated downwards, at the entire group.

Immediately, the powerful team went to work. Kirlia's eyes glowed gold, arms spread wide, as a large sheen of yellow energy spread out before all of them, Light Screen coming into existence. Rotom and Butterfree flew up, Pidgeot diving down and hovering between them. Rotom's arms became coated with a swirling purple mist, Butterfree's wings glowed a faint silver, and Pidgeot's wings seemed to absorb the air into them.

Rotom thrust his arms forward, a large Ominous Wind flying forward, while Butterfree started flapping his wings repeatedly, sending a Silver Wind off to mix with Ominous Wind. With a single powerful wingbeat, Pidgeot sent a powerful current in the same direction, changing the very flow of the air with a Tailwind, pushing Heat Wave back slightly while boosting the force Silver and Ominous Wind flew forward with.

The clashing forces of the air flew straight into each other, and the air filled with smoke as the two groups cancelled each other out. The smoke cleared as Lapras launched another Hydro Pump through, striking Moltres before he could respond, staggering him in the air again.

A look was shared between the team, and immediately, a plan formed. With powerful wingbeats, Butterfree and Pidgeot soared upwards. Pidgeot vanished with a faint glow of light, using Agility to move too fast for the naked eye, slowing down just long enough for Moltres to catch a trace of it. When Moltres chose to launch an attack, Pidgeot began moving faster again, and took the opportunity to crash into him with an Aerial Ace. Butterfree kept out of range, using Pidgeot's speed and distraction to launch Signal Beams, confusing Moltres further. Down on the ground, Primeape contributed to the plan, rings of energy forming around him as he launched volley after volley of Stone Edges, which Moltres had to put full effort into dodging, knowing how dangerous such a move was to itself.

Down, away from the action, Rotom, Kirlia, and Lapras developed a plan for a powerful combination attack. After making sure Moltres was distracted enough that they wouldn't be bothered, Lapras aimed into the air, and unleashed a rather large Hydro Pump, away from Moltres. Kirlia's eyes glowed blue, as did the water. Twisting around, Kirlia pulled the water and molded it, until it formed a giant ring in the air.

Giggling, hyper as always, Rotom darted up into the space in the center of the water that Kirlia was holding aloft. Sparks travelling down his arms, and through his body, he unleashed a powerful Discharge, electricity flying out all around him, coursing through the water, conducting it all throughout, leaving it supercharged.

After catching her breath from the two consecutive Hydro Pumps, Lapras leaned down, horn glowing with blue energy. Firing the Ice Beam into the air, it struck the supercharged ring, concealing it within the icy shell, freezing the super-conducted electricity.

The three shared a nod. Kirlia held the massive construct over her head with Psychic, keeping an eye on Moltres. Butterfree, Primeape, and Pidgeot all got the message, and began attacking in such a way to keep Moltres from moving. Raising her arm, Kirlia began to move it in a circle, causing the ring to start spinning around, faster and faster.

Pidgeot dived in with everything she had in one final Brave Bird attack. Moltres shot a volley of Air Slashes at the incoming Pokemon, but using Agility, she weaved in between them all, and struck Moltres dead in the chest, pushing it back in the air, before pushing away, blue sparks travelling down her body as she felt the recoil damage the attack had. Seeing that Pidgeot was stunned, Moltres' beak began emanating embers, a massive ball of fire forming in his mouth. Ready to launch his Fire Blast, he opened wide, took a breath, and-

 _CRUNCH_

The massive ring came flying down out of the sky, landing dead center, on top of Moltres, sending it crashing to the ground. When Moltres hit the ground, the impact caused the ring to shatter, releasing the trapped water and all of the electricity stored inside, promptly dousing the bird's fire and giving him a massive shock through the water now layered over it.

Kirlia lowered her arms, breathing heavily, but proud of herself. She had never lifted that much for that long with Psychic before, but she did will. Rotom cheered in glee, darting around in the air, while Lapras simply smiled serenely. Primeape collapsed to the ground, tired from all of the Stone Edges he launched, while Pidgeot and Butterfree landed and began to use Roost to recover the energy they had used to dodge Moltres' attacks and counter.

" _YIPEE!"_ Rotom cheered, flying around all of them with his classic hyperactivity.

Lapras looked around the beach. Several fires were raging on the shrubbery from all of the flames Moltres had used prior to being beaten. Focusing as much of her remaining power as possible, clouds gathered around the tip of Lapras' horn, before she shot them skyward. The day was already dark, but at the, the surrounding clouds grew even more heavy, and rain began to fall down over the beach. The fires grew smaller as the water continued to douse them, and Lapras lowered her head to the ground. Using Rain Dance always took a lot out of her.

"Can I help you?" Kirlia asked Lapras.

Lapras shook her head. "Just give me time, the water from the rain will help me recover in a minute here."

"Oh, of course" Kirlia said. "You must be tired, I think you did more than any of us."

"Excuse you?" Pidgeot asked, turning her head over her shoulder. "Were you guys up there right in that thing's face?"

"Oh yeah, huh?" Kirlia asked, prompting Pidgeot to crack a smile tiredly. "Sorry."

"No problem" Pidgeot said. "I had to protect my flock."

"Flock?" Lapras asked. "The only other one of us that has wings is Butterfree."

"And I can't go anywhere near a flock of you guys, they always try to eat me" Butterfree said.

"It's a comparison" Pidgeot said. "I used to protect a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto from some enemy Spearow and Fearow, and I was always on the front line. I wouldn't risk anyone else dealing with their leaders, and that's what I always do."

"Yeah, you are second-in-command after all" Butterfree said. "Behind Ash, of course."

"Hey, I don't take the role of commander" Pidgeot denied. "You've been part of the team just as long as I have, we're all equals here."

"Come on, you're a great leader, don't deny it" Lapras said. "We can put all of our trust in you, any time."

"Oh, come on, I'm not _that_ -" Pidgeot began to say, before there was a rather loud growling sound.

Immediately, all 6 of the Pokemon got back into battle position. Pidgeot spread her wings, ready to take off, while the rest of them readied attacks. In front of them, down the beach, more heat began to radiate outwards as Moltres' flames reignited, and he got back to his feet.

His beak opened up, and they all got ready to dodge, but stopped in shock at what came out. "You there…"

Pidgeot's wings flapped hard, flying through the air to land in front of the massive bird. Each one glowed white, as she prepared to fire off an Air Slash at the first sign. "What's your game, here, you overcooked chicken?"

Moltres glared down at Pidgeot. "You… I know you. You worked for the Chosen One when he helped Master Lugia."

Pidgeot didn't back down from Moltres. "...You… You're the Moltres, from that cluster of Islands, out in the Orange Archipelago."

Moltres nodded. "Now, what am I doing here?" he demanded. This time, Pidgeot was the one to glare at him, with such ferocity that he shirked away.

"You want to know why you're here?" Pidgeot seethed. "We'd like to know that just as much, considering how you've barbecued half the island, struck terror into every last human here, and nearly killed the six of us! Why don't you tell _us?!_ "

Moltres looked surprised at that news. "What is this? I would never just attack something out of the blue!"

Pidgeot gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like "six years ago," at which Moltres looked down, abashed.

"That was different" he said. "I was enraged by an evil human."

"Let me guess, someone crashed into your favorite rock on Fire Island?" Pidgeot asked.

Moltres gave Pidgeot an offended look. "If I didn't have such a respect for your help alongside the Chosen One and Master Lugia, I would fry you, here and now for making such a statement."

"You would try" Pidgeot scoffed. "But in the rain, with you being so tired and my speed? Good luck with that."

Seeing that no new fight was breaking out, the rest of them approached slowly. Lapras sprayed Ice across the ground, making a nice path to slide across. On her way, she leaned down and picked Primeape up, setting him on her back. Butterfree fluttered over, landing next to Pidgeot. "I'm warning you, I've been charging up a Quiver Dance the whole time you were talking to her, so if you attack, I'm going to use a Signal Beam that's going to knock you loopy." His voice was shaking, he was bluffing.

Moltres looked down at the new arrivals. "You, you are all the partners of the Chosen One."

Pidgeot sighed. "It's looking like this hothead was under some sort of mind control, guys" she said.

"Mind control?" Kirlia asked. "But no Pokemon is powerful enough to overshadow a Legendary like this one."

"No, it wasn't a Pokemon" Moltres growled, causing the rest of them to eye him warily.

"I thought you said that you had no idea what you were doing here" Pidgeot said sharply.

"I didn't, but I'm starting to remember" Moltres admitted. "Me and my siblings, Articuno and Zapdos, we were all attacked by-"

Something suddenly flashed through Kirlia's mind. She didn't hear the rest of what Moltres said, but turned around immediately, looking around worriedly. Lapras and Butterfree took notice of this.

"What's wrong, Kirlia?" Lapras asked.

"Is something the matter?" Butterfree asked.

Kirlia looked around, trying to figure out what had happened, what she had sensed, when another signal hit her. She gasped, feeling the horns on her head, looking around frantically. By now, she had almost everyone worried.

"What's happening?" Pidgeot asked the young Emotion Pokemon.

She looked off into the distance. "They're in trouble!" she cried, before vanishing into thin air, Teleporting away.

The remaining 5 of them, along with Moltres, stared at the spot where she vanished from. "Urg, what was that'll about?" Primeape asked.

"She said "They're in trouble" right before she left…" Lapras thought. Her eyes widened. "And there's only one "they" that she'd know about."

"Ash! And Riolu!" Pidgeot cried in alarm. She turned to the large Pokemon in front of her. "I swear, if one of my friends got killed fighting your siblings…"

Moltres spread his wings wide, very suddenly, shocking all of them present. When he looked back down at them, the fire was no longer limited to outside his body, but now, a fire was burning in his eyes as well. "If Zapdos or Articuno are wreaking havoc, I will be more than glad to help knock some sense into them" he promised. "I've always prided myself on being the strongest of the three of us."

"Good, because I feel like we're going to need your help to set them straight" Pidgeot growled. She, Butterfree, and Rotom took to the air. Even Rotom looked less joyous and hyper, now that the idea of his trainer being threatened was presented.

Lapras' horn glowed, ready to pave a new path for her to skid around on. "Let's hurry up, we've still got the baby back at base to take care of" she said in a dark tone, most unlike herself.

Primeape pushed himself up, getting ready to run, before a wing was held out in front of him. Looking up, he saw Moltres looking down at him. "You may ride on me" he said. "I still remember bits of the battle from while I was under that cursed spell, and I remember that you, my friend, have one wicked Stone Edge attack. That could prove most useful against my brethren."

Primeape looked up at the Legendary for a moment, before nodding, and hopping up on top of him. "And if I ever see those damn Rockets again…" Moltres growled. He unleashed a gout of fire high into the sky for effect. "I'll burn every last one of them alive!"

"You may have to stand in a line" Pidgeot pointed out. "Our friend Mewtwo already wants to slice them into little cubes and toss them out to sea."

"I would assume that they have this effect on all Legendary Pokemon, then" Moltres growled.

"It would appear so" Butterfree nodded. "If there's one thing we all agree on, it's that they suck."

"Quite so!" Moltres agreed. "Now, let's get my brethren back in control, then we'll deal with the aftermath."

* * *

 _ **Area 5**_

* * *

" _CRAAAAAAAAWWWWW…_ "

As quick as they could, the three of them ducked behind the nearest tree, as the large thunderbird flew overhead. Zapdos hung in the sky like a massive omen of fear, and whenever it saw something move, it wouldn't hesitate to fry it with a Thunderbolt.

"I'm sorry, guys" May whispered to the two beside her. "It's my fault that you guys are out here too. I shouldn't have gotten you into this."

Pikachu and Glaceon looked up at her, shaking their heads. "Pika, Pikachu Pika Bi" Pikachu whispered.

"I know you wanted to, but I should have said to stay at home…" May whispered, trailing off and shrinking away as Zapdos made another pass overhead. "We need to find a way to sneak past that thing and get home" she said. "Uh… Let's see…"

Reaching into her belt, she grabbed a minimized Pokeball. "Maybe Gabite would be willing to help us out" she thought out loud. Clicking the button, the Pokeball expanded to full size. "Alright, Gabite, we need your help she said" tossing the ball into the air.

Before it came crashing back down to the ground, clicking against the dirt terrain. "What?" May asked. "How come he didn't come out?" Reaching down, she picked up the ball again, and tried pressing the button a couple more times. "Come on, Gabite, we really need your help."

Pikachu frowned. Walking forward, he tapped on the ball with his tail. "Pika Pi?" he asked.

May reached down to her belt again and pulled off another ball, this time Blaziken's. Expanding this one as well, she tossed it forward, and like Gabite's ball before it, it fell to the ground, inactive.

"So, all of my Pokeballs are out?" May asked. "How can that be?"

Glaceon looked around, with a hint of fear in her eyes as Zapdos cruised by again. Another loud cry rang out as Zapdos let out a blinding flash of lightning at Trapinch that had just dug itself out of the beach. The Trapinch flinched, but as a Ground-Type, was able to shrug off the electricity. Seeing that the Pokemon was still standing, Zapdos' wings glowed white, before he rattled off a series of Air Cutter attacks, striking Trapinch and sending it sprawling across the ground, out cold. "Gla Glace…" she said shakily.

Pikachu turned around, looked at Glaceon. "Pika! Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu said with a tone of confidence, reassuring Glaceon.

May smiled at the two of them, before looking back out. "If we keep hanging around here, that thing is bound the see us eventually. I think, we may need to make a run for it."

Pikachu walked in front of May. "Pika, Pikachu!" he said.

Glaceon's eyes widened, as May looked confused. "What are you saying, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu, Pikapi, Pikachupika" Pikachu mimed out what he was trying to say. Getting down on all fours, he walked to the edge of their cover.

"Wait, no, Pikachu, I can't just let you be a distraction" May protested.

"Glaceon! Glaceon Gla!" Glaceon pleaded.

Pikachu didn't listen to them. Giving a confident nod, Pikachu sprang forward, rushing out from underneath the trees. Looking up at Zapdos, he took a deep breath. "PIKACHU!" he shouted.

Zapdos wheeled around in the air, immediately glaring down at Pikachu. " _CRAAAAAAAWWW!"_ he cried out, plumage sparking before he unleashed a massive bolt of lightning directly at the little mouse below.

Pikachu tensed, springing to the side with Agility to avoid the Thunderbolt as the spot where he was standing turned to a smoking crater of molten glass. Landing nimbly, Pikachu swung around, and flung an Electro Ball high into the air. Swirling energy appeared around Zapdos' beak, before spinning and diving down, piercing straight through the Electro Ball with his Drill Peck and continuing straight on down at Pikachu, who struck his tail into the ground, springing into the air and letting Zapdos fly beneath him. He landed, panting a little, still tired from his earlier battle with Slaking.

May and Glaceon crept out from underneath the trees, moving slowly as they watched Pikachu try to handle Zapdos. Zapdos flew back up into the air, and hovered there, facing Pikachu, as flashes of light began solidifying around him, darkening into silver spheres. With another cry, Zapdos sent Ancient Power down at Pikachu. Pikachu let out a defiant cry of his own as his tail sparked, and he jumped, beginning to rapid-fire Electro Balls high into the air, connecting with each attack. Each one detonated and filled the air with smoke, but before Pikachu could land back on the ground, the Ancient Power soared on through. He attempted to spin, to dodge them, but one still hit him head on, striking him into the ground.

Glaceon stopped in her tracks as they were running. "GLA!" she cried out.

May turned around to face her Pokemon. "Glaceon, what are you doing?" she asked.

When Glaceon shouted, Zapdos turned their direction. " _CRAAAAAAWWW!"_ he roared as he flew high up over them. Sparks began running across his body as he glared down at the two of them.

Glaceon stepped forward, not backing away as Zapdos approached. The cold glare in her eyes was unwavering. "Gla…" she growled. Her entire body started to glow rainbow, a reflective sheen overcoming her.

Zapdos unleashed a massive Thunderbolt attack, aimed straight for the lone Glaceon. Digging her feet deep into the ground, the Thunderbolt connected, and she became a massive neon beacon.

"GLACEON!" May cried out, trying to help her Pokemon, before spare strands of electricity leapt off and pushed her back, sending her sprawling. She quickly pushed herself back up, but she stopped as she saw what was happening.

"Glaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Glaceon growled as she managed to hold her ground. Her feet sunk deeper into the sand, but she didn't falter. "Glaaaaaaaaaaaceeeeeeeee-!"

"Glaceon?" May asked in shock.

Zapdos' Thunderbolt faded, and the large bird appeared surprised that the Pokemon before him was still standing. Glaceon opened her eyes, and the rainbow sheen around her flashed brightly before.

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Glaceon roared, opening her mouth and unleashed a blazing flash of energy, her Mirror Coat flying through the air, supercharged with Zapdos' attack, flying through the air at unbelievable speed and connecting with Zapdos with an atomic blast, shaking the very earth with the force. Zapdos went careening back, spiraling as it was hit with the force of his own attack, doubled.

Legs shaking, Glaceon collapsed, breathing hard. May rushed forward and picked up her Pokemon. "Glaceon…" she said. "You, you were amazing. Come on!" She stood back up, turning around. She still couldn't see Pikachu, but she had to leave. Whatever Pikachu had done, he had done it so that they could get away. With Glaceon in her arms, May sprinted off down the path. Moments later, she began to hear powerful wingbeats behind her, and her adrenaline began pumping as she ran faster, with Zapdos on her tail. The air became charged again, and May could tell that Zapdos was readying another Electric-Type attack. Pikachu and Glaceon had already laid themselves down in the line of fire for her, now it was her turn. She wouldn't let Glaceon take another attack in such a state, she would protect her with her own body.

* * *

Across the beach, Pikachu struggled up out of the sand, panting to his feet. His head pounded from the large orb that had struck it, but he shook it and cleared it up.

The first thing he noticed was Zapdos right in front of him, on the ground. But real fast, he took back to the air, flying forward after something. After a moment, he saw just what the massive Legendary was chasing. May was sprinting away, something cradled in her arms. Pikachu's fur stood on end as the air became electrically charged, and Zapdos began sparking. They were helpless, at the mercy of the mad Pokemon.

And he couldn't stand by. Putting his own pains and aches aside, Pikachu sprang forward, running as fast as he could with Quick Attack, slowed up by the sand. With the speed he was able to move at, he knew that he couldn't reach them in time. Desperation fueling him, he began running a bit faster, but things still seemed hopeless. Zapdos drew closer, and the electrical energy began to build up. Too much build up, he could feel it. Zapdos wasn't aiming to stun them. He was, going for the…

Something, something deep inside, opened up. A strange feeling, sort of flowed through him. And he felt, new power, he felt refreshed.

Cheeks sparking violently, Pikachu let out an explosive burst of electrical energy, propelling him forward through the air like a bullet, moving dozens of yards forward, faster than lightning. Hitting the path, Pikachu kept running forward, full speed ahead, white light trailing behind him as the world blurred past.

Time slowed down, Zapdos aimed a surge of power forward, just as Pikachu ran underneath. Pouring in maximum effort, Pikachu managed to outrun the Thunderbolt, and as he drew ahead, jumped up, getting right between the Thunderbolt and May, and closed his eyes.

He heard May stop in front of him, calling for Pikachu, but surprisingly, Pikachu felt no pain. Instead, he felt his power swell, his energy replenish, and he opened his eyes. The electricity was striking him, swirling around his body and being absorbed into his tail.

He felt like he was about to burst, completely filled to the brim with energy. Sparks coursed across his body, uncalled for, and his battle instincts took over. Falling from the air, the second he touched the ground, he immediately sprang back off. His vision glowed yellow, and his body erupted into a hyper-charged Volt Tackle. Sailing through the air like a meteor, Zapdos had no time to react before Pikachu collided with him, the sheer momentum and strength of the attack pushing Zapdos much higher into the sky. Reaching the apex of the attack, Pikachu and Zapdos fell away from each other, and Pikachu spun around and unleashed an attack that shattered the pressure in the air, the clouds for miles around shining bright yellow, and the attack visible from space.

The volts fading, Pikachu felt his power fall back to normal levels, and he fell down through the air, level with Zapdos as they careened towards the planet. Approaching the ground fast, he shut his eyes tight, but the impact never came. The wind now rushed past his face horizontally, and he felt a smooth surface beneath him. Cracking his eyes open, he was aware of beige feathers carrying him through the air, before diving and depositing him on the ground, just before another Thunderbolt raced past their heads. Zapdos had righted himself before he hit the ground, and his attack narrowly missed a rather large Pidgeot that wheeled through the air, artfully dodging the attacks. And as he turned around to run back to May's side, the air seemed to grow much warmer.

However, as he turned around to return to May, she was no longer there. A ways away from where she had been, Glaceon was walking as fast as it could, back towards Pikachu. Running even faster, he caught up, meeting Glaceon. "What happened?" he asked. "Where'd she go?"

Glaceon looked over her shoulder. "She was about to try to help, but then, there was this noise, like someone screaming. She… It did something to her, I've never seen her react that way. She started running off, but I could tell I was slowing her down. I hopped down and told her to go on, and that I'd come back to you." She looked down. "I saw you out there, you were amazing. How'd you do that?"

Pikachu cocked his head in a thinking pose. "I don't know" he admitted. "I saw Zapdos about to attack you guys, and I, I felt like something, opened up inside of me. I don't know how, but I absorbed all of that electricity Zapdos fired. I absorbed it from a Thundurus before, but it hurt a lot. This time, it was, painless, I guess."

"I guess that we'll find out later" Glaceon said. Looking up, her eyes widened. "Look out, _there's another one!"_

"What?!" Pikachu exclaimed, wheeling around. Suddenly, he realized why things had warmed up ever since he landed.

Flying straight towards them, a massive Moltres darted through the air, flames roaring high around it. As it neared, it looked down at them, and opened its mouth…

Pikachu jumped in front of Glaceon, cheeks sparking. "No, I-" he said, but stopped short when he saw what happened.

The Moltres shot off a massive Fire Blast, roaring through the air, and striking the Zapdos, bursting outwards and knocking him back to the ground. Through the fiery aura surrounding the Moltres, other Pokemon became visible. A purple butterfly Pokemon wheeled high above the Moltres, a rainbow light apparent around its antenna. What appeared to be a Primeape rode on its back, looking down on the battle. Pikachu sensed an electrical source dart through the air, and a flash of orange zoomed by, disappearing and reappearing through the air, unleashing straight jolts of electricity whenever it stopped. A faint skidding sound was heard behind them, and suddenly, a stream of ice swept across the ground, and a Lapras zoomed on by, aiming up and letting the Ice Beam fly up and strike the Zapdos in the chest.

Pikachu and Glaceon looked on at the scene in awe. Never had they hoped since the attack began that such powerful reinforcements would arrive, Pokemon so brave to stand up to this thing. The Pidgeot spun through the air, sending sharp blades of wind down, while the Primeape shot volley after volley of sharp stones down below, and the Butterfree above kept rattling off Psybeams.

Suddenly, something seemed oddly familiar about the scene. Pikachu looked on, a new light forming around the scene. The Pidgeot, leading the attack alongside the Moltres, risking life and limb. A Primeape, launching a furious, all-out attack. A Butterfree, while small, giving its all to get the job done, and a Lapras, being a great help, using a Thunder attack herself to draw in any electricity Zapdos fired off. "It, can't be?" Pikachu gasped.

Glaceon looked over at Pikachu. "What happened? What is it?" she asked.

A bolt of electricity splintered as it connected with the Moltres' Flamethrower, spraying everywhere and catching the Pidgeot on the wing before she could dodge out of the way. She aimed as straight as she could, but crashed to the ground, cursing and grunting.

Pikachu darted forward, shocking Glaceon. "Wait, Pikachu!" she protested.

Not listening, Pikachu ran up to the fallen bird Pokemon. "Pidgeot?" he asked. "Is that you?"

Groaning, the Pidgeot struggled to her feet, before looking down at Pikachu. First in confusion, then in shock and recognition. "Pikachu?" she gasped. "But, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Pikachu laughed, doing his best with the size difference to hug his old friend. "I haven't seen you since we left you to protect those Pidgey and Pidgeotto back after the party in Pallet Town."

Glaceon ran forward as quickly as she could. "Pikachu, who is this?" she asked.

Pidgeot looked down at Glaceon. "Are you the Eevee that my Trainer's Rival had?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Glaceon, meet Pidgeot. Pidgeot, meet Glaceon. Pidgeot was one of Ash's partners back on our first journey. We haven't seen her in a while. And Pidgeot, this isn't Gary's Pokemon. She belongs to May, one of Ash's friends."

Pidgeot frowned. "Oh, I see…" she said with a hint of sadness. "I'm sorry."

Glaceon looked confused. "Um, what are you talking about."

"I heard about what happened to your Trainer, no one should have to live with that" Pidgeot bowed her head in sympathy.

Pikachu gave Glaceon a look, and immediately, they both understood. Glaceon didn't respond, and Pikachu turned back around. "Pidgeot… Where did you hear about that?" he asked slowly.

Pidgeot looked down at Pikachu. "From, Ash" she said.

Pikachu's eyes widened in shock, and Glaceon started behind him. "Pidgeot, listen closely" Pikachu demanded. "Are you here with, are you on Ash's team?"

"Yes" Pidgeot answered simply.

"Where is he?" Pikachu asked frantically. "We've been looking for him for ages. We have to find him!"

"We actually don't know" Pidgeot admitted. "He had a match a little while ago, but before he could return to us, these guys attacked the island." He bowed his head thoughtfully. "Kirlia was looking for him, but we don't know where she went…"

Pikachu looked at Glaceon. "He's really here, he's really on the island!"

Pidgeot looked down at Pikachu. "What is so important that you have to find him?" she inquired. "I can understand wanting to, but-"

"I'm sorry, Pidgeot" Pikachu apologized, getting down on all fours. "But right now we have to find out trainer, like, _right now_ right now."

Pidgeot looked surprised. "You have a new trainer?" she asked. "Who is it?"

Pikachu gave one last look at his old friend. "Ash's old friend" he said. "May."

And at that, he and Glaceon ran off as fast as they could go together, leaving an extremely confused Pidgeot behind, as the attacks raged on behind her as the team attempted to bring down the second of the three birds. "Wait…" Pidgeot thought. "May?"

* * *

 _ **Road to Area 2**_

* * *

 _May looked up at Pikachu, eyes wide in shock, Glaceon beginning to stir in her arms. "Wow…" she gasped. "Pikachu… You're just, the best."_

 _Pikachu landed on the ground, before springing back into the air with the most powerful Volt Tackle he had ever put out. He sprung upwards, showing no sign of slowing down as he neared the Zapdos up above._

 _Just as he connected, something ripped through the air, other than the sound of the electrical explosion. A loud, blood-curdling sound, that made ice trickle through her veins. "No…" she whispered, before seconds later, she felt a tugging sensation. The same one that she felt back in front of the gift store a few days ago._

 _Her mind almost went blank as she let herself be guided towards the feeling, rather than fight it, sprinted full-on into it. She went as fast as she could down the path that crossed over the beach, cold fear pumping through her veins. The sound, she knew exactly what it was, somehow._

 _She felt shifting in her arms, and Glaceon had fully woken back up and begun moving again. Looking around, she began struggling. "Glaceon, what, are you-?" she asked before she managed to hop down. "Glaceon, I can't stay, I_ need _to go!"_

" _Glaceon, Gla Glaceo" Glaceon barked, nodding._

" _You want me to go on, but you can't leave Pikachu behind?" May asked. "Glaceon, you could get hurt."_

" _Glaceon" Glaceon nodded._

" _Of course I trust you" May said. "I know, if you say something, you mean it. You promise to stay safe?" Glaceon nodded. "Alright, go on."_

 _Glaceon nodded, and ran back down the path from here they came. May couldn't spend any more time there, and started running as fast as she could as well. The feeling that was drawing her in steadily grew weaker as time continued to pass. "No, no, no, nothing's going to happen" she kept telling herself._

"Nothing can go bad" she huffed, running even faster. It played like a broken record in her head, she kept telling herself back, even though the cold pit in her stomach grew colder than a Kyurem's ice.

At the thought of ice, she noticed a sudden nip in the air. Bursting out from between some trees, she jumped onto the path again, and stopped in her tracks as the scene before her played out.

The final bird, Articuno, hung in the air. Suspended before it, a swirling vortex of wind and ice contained a cloaked figure. To the side, a large Electivire laid on the ground, on top of a person who she recognized as Paul. Closer to her, a blue and black Pokemon struggled to push itself off the ground.

As she watched, the attack faded, and the figure fell out of the air, falling towards the ground. Everything seemed to move through molasses, and she couldn't see what had drawn her here, even though a feeling of cold, deadly fear settled over her. A flash of light appeared on the beach as a small Pokemon, the same size as the other one, appeared on the beach, this one green and white.

The figure collapsed to the ground, a plume of sand flying into the air, masking them from view. From the cloud of sand that rose up, a small black object rolled out. A hat…

The sand fell slowly, settling back to the ground, and May's feeling grew deeper, and her eyes grew wider, as the figure on the ground, a young man, with unforgettable, messy, raven-colored hair, was on the ground. Still.

"ASH!" she screamed.

"RIO/LIA!" the two Pokemon down on the beach cried out, and another one, unplaceable, mixed between them.

Oblivious to the suffering, the cold titan of the air above them let out a deathly shriek. " _RAAAAAAAAAAWWW!"_ Articuno cried out, settling to the ground, eyes set on the two Pokemon down there.

May sat helpless, frozen, as the scene played out before her eyes. "No, _NO,_ this can't be happening" she said. Breaking through her paralyzing fear, she ran down towards the beach, heedless of the threat. Nothing would distract her, nothing would keep her from Ash.

Not this time.

* * *

 **Now, THAT one was a doozy of a chapter. This is by far the longest one I've ever written. But, I needed to treat you guys right, and this was such a big chapter, I head to do it justice. After all, I told you guys last time, that the next chapter would be a major one. Don't believe me? Go back and check the author notes at the end of the last chapter. I remembered.**

 **Yes, it's been a month and a half since the last update. Let me put it to you this way. You know all those jokes about how when you were 2, you cursed naps out, and college students say "praise the lord" when presented with the opportunity to nap? Those jokes aren't baseless, let me put it to you that way. I'm taking part in a program to take my senior year of high school at a college, so the work load seems extra high. Between working there, doing homework, writing English essays, working around the house doing chores and helping out my family, and my own personal time (which I actually do like writing, so by which I mean those times I take a break from it), I was hard-pressed to find the time. But, the weekends are a blessing.**

 **So, back to the chapter itself. Hope you all enjoyed my little cliffie at the end (insert your best imagining of an evil laugh,** _ **muhuhahaha**_ **doesn't do it justice). This chapter was a lot more battle-oriented than my past chapters, so I hope that they were well choreographed (is that an applicable term here?). But, anyways, tell me what you thought of the battles. Not sure how well I did with May versus Norman. It was a good idea on my head, but for some reason, it felt awkward writing it, like I couldn't make it that well. Sorry about that. And sorry if things seemed repetitive during some parts, I'm trying to keep things fresh, doesn't mean it always happens.**

 **I know, some people will be upset that Ash even lost one Pokemon to Anabel. After all, that's the way our fanbase is, very split. Keep in mind, Anabel is by far the toughest of the opponents Ash has faced since arriving at the island, and Volcarona took a lot of self-inflicted damage from trying Flare Blitz. Also, I needed to show off Riolu too. I built the little guy up to be awesome at the start, but haven't shown him off yet. Hope that whetted your appetite for him.**

 **And I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. We all need some good Pokemon right now, the ending of XYZ was hard on most of us. I know I can't be the only one who watched the anime, who got sucker-punched in the feels when Greninja left, and felt, empty, like it was the end of all Pokemon, and not just the season. We haven't had a wrap-up like that since… Ever, I want to say. Go on, hate me for ranking this above the Kanto and Johto days, but we all have our opinions.**

 **And that's all. You guys, you all have a good time. Please, drop a review on the way out, I especially want to know how my battle-writing skills are showing, and how hyped I've left you for the future. Until next time, this is Sonic the Saiyan, signing off. Peace!**


	11. Always Darkest Before Dawn

**Ok, guys, you are in for a doozy of a chapter. Now, I may have had to put off writing an essay for a few days to make sure I could get it out, but it's been just over a month, you**

 **shouldn't have to wait much longer. I know I said this a while back, but as I wrote this, I couldn't help but feel as if this was my most impactful chapter yet. Things may seem a bit rushed, so I apologize in advance. Then again, if you're reading this, you know all about Advance already, heheheheh. Ok, I'll go kill myself for that pun right now, I am sorry.**

 **But all jokes aside. You ready to see what happens next? On your marks… Get Set…**

 **GO!**

* * *

 _ **Beach**_

* * *

Riolu and Kirlia stared in shock as he lied on the ground, lifeless. The air temperature continued to drop as Articuno hovered in the air above the scene.

Riolu's fists and eyes clenched shut, tears threatening to spill forth from them. "No… Why did he _do_ that?" he sobbed. "He shouldn't have taken that attack, it was meant for me!"

Kirlia was paralyzed in shock. "Why… How… What, what happened?"

"The s-same thing that always happens" Riolu sniffed. "He put everything above himself, like me… He shouldn't have, he didn't deserve it!"

Above them, Articuno let out another ear-piercing shriek. Eyes sparkling, Riolu turned to face the massive Legend, stepping forward and placing himself between Articuno and Kirlia. "You hurt my friend!" he growled, anger filling him up inside. " _No one hurts my friend!"_

Muscles in his legs tensing, Riolu sprung as high as he could into the air, before swinging at Articuno with Bullet Punch, striking her scruff repeatedly. Articuno looked down, almost pitifully, before swinging around with a Steel Wing, knocking Riolu back to earth with a mighty crash.

"Riolu!" Kirlia cried out, breaking free from her paralyzing fear. Sparks travelling down her arms, she aimed up into the air and let out a powerful Shock Wave upwards at Articuno. The electricity ran across Articuno's body, but she easily shrugged it off. Aiming down, she opened her mouth and let an Ice Beam course down through the air at the two of them.

Focusing, Kirlia raised her arms again and a golden barrier appeared in the air. The Ice Beam struck it and pierced through, the barrier weakening the force, but still plenty powerful. Arms stuck in place from holding the Light Screen, the Ice Beam carried on through towards Kirlia. But, before it could strike, there was a blur of blue and black in front of Kirlia, and Riolu appeared, holding a Focus Blast in his palm, holding it out to catch the attack. He managed to keep it at bay for only a moment, before the Focus Blast detonated, sending him careening back through the air, singed by the energy.

Flipping, he barely landed on his feet, panting hard. "No…" he grunted. "I'm… Too weak without him." Closing his eyes, he let out a cry of frustration. "I'm not powerful, unless he's sharing his power with me. I'm helpless on my own!"

"Riolu, don't say that" Kirlia said, using a well-timed Teleport to narrowly avoid Articuno's next Ice Beam, reappearing near Riolu. "What would Ash say if he heard you talking yourself down like that?"

"He'd tell me I'm plenty strong" Riolu grunted, pushing himself to his feet with difficulty. "But I'm not, not without him, I can't do anything to even affect this thing!"

He punched the ground as hard as he could. "If I wasn't such a pushover, he wouldn't have had to take that attack for me!" he cried out. "If I hadn't gotten in the way, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. I should have stayed out, he always puts everyone else before himself…"

The two worked in conjunction, combining another Light Screen and Focus Blast to narrowly avoid another of Articuno's attacks. "He's always been like that, always caring for us before himself…" Kirlia agreed, reaching up and touching the gem that Ash had given her for doing so well. She turned it into a pendant with a piece of string so that she could carry it on her. "And in battle, he would always give his own life to protect us too…"

Riolu stood up. "He did our surviving for us, when we couldn't" he growled, his eyes burning with a blue fire. "Everytime, he was completely selfless, he taught us how to be a true hero, yet he wouldn't let us be the heroes over him, he couldn't bare to lose anyone."

As Articuno readied one last Ice Beam, Riolu started charging Focus Blast, once more. "And I won't let this happen _any more!_ " he shouted, as this one began to grow larger. "I won't be weak again, this time, I'll fight, I'll prove myself for him! And I _won't give up!"_

"Riolu…" Kirlia said, taken aback by the sudden change from anger to confidence. Feeling Riolu's emotions, she felt her own fire burn inside of her. "That's right" she agreed, stepping up beside Riolu as she formed her own ball of energy, this one a glowing, swirling pink and purple. "He's given up everything for us, now it's time we make it so that he doesn't have to do that again."

Pushing her Psyshock forward, Riolu mirrored her by pushing Focus Blast forward. The two energies melded together, not reacting violently like the Psychic did on Riolu before, but this time, fusing together easily. Riolu and Kirlia glared up at Articuno. "We don't care if you're a Legendary!" Riolu shouted defiantly.

"No more crutches!" Kirlia shouted. "No relying on others!"

" _We… Will… Be… Strong… On… Our… OWN!"_

Articuno's Ice Beam rained down out of the sky, and Riolu and Kirlia pushed forward, holding their attack out as a shield. The two energies collided, and Riolu, alongside Kirlia, began to be pushed backwards across the ground. Shaking his head vigorously, Riolu gritted his teeth, and kirlia's eyes flashed wide open as she dug her feet into the ground. They slowed down as the attack kept pushing them back. Kirlia's mind was strained to her limits as she pooled all of her power into the Psyshock, and Riolu tensed up as hard as he could, pooling every last ounce of energy in as well.

The two brave Pokemon gave one, final thrust, and the Ice Beam shattered into frost crystals as the Psyshock/Focus Blast combination burst through, flying up through the air and exploding against the body of the Legendary.

Riolu quickly caught his breath, before steeling himself and springing off of the ground into the smoke. His vision masked, he closed his eyes as he soared on through, feeling for Articuno with the sense of Aura, before spinning in the air, foot sparking before he unleashed a full, successful Blaze Kick, hearing the satisfying shriek as the fiery strike connect with the cold feathers.

He fell back towards the ground, but the impact was soft as Kirlia caught him with Psychic. Nodding in unison, the two of them prepared attacks again, Psyshock and Focus Blast. As the smoke began to clear, they thrust forward once more, and the two moves swirled into the air, and detonated hard again, this time, sending Articuno crashing towards the ground.

The large bird righted itself before it stuck the surface, eyes filled with cold hatred, before unleashing another unearthly shriek at the pair of Pokemon. Winds began surrounding Articuno's wings again…

Kirlia and Riolu vanished in a flash of light, reappearing on Articuno's back. Electricity travelled down Kirlia's arms while flames leapt up around Riolu's foot again. Articuno noticed they were their, and attempted to buck them off, but Riolu grabbed Articuno around the neck, brought his foot up, and began stomping his Blaze Kick into Articuno repeatedly, while Kirlia brought her hands down and used Shock Wave directly into Articuno. The large Pokemon continued to try to throw them off, but once it had, it had already suffered serious attacks by the two. Riolu flipped through the air, Kirlia landing beside him.

"I don't care if you're not in control" Riolu growled. " _No one hurts my friend!"_

* * *

 _ **Beach Behind Them (Same Time)**_

* * *

May sprinted across the path and down the sandy turf, not slowing down in the slightest on the rough terrain. Her legs burned from her run there, but she ignored it, it meant nothing to her. She was dimly aware of flashes of a battle off to the side, but her tunnel vision blocked it out.

She was almost to where Ash laid, panting heavily as she approached. Something shot past her, and she felt herself get whipped off her feet and land hard on the beach. A spray of sand went up in front of her, shielding everything from view. She covered her eyes as the sand came down, before getting back up and running forward.

Barely having time to floor herself again as a stream of green fire came out of nowhere and shot directly at her. She felt the heat of the attack sear the back of her neck as it narrowly missed her. Looking up, she was shocked at what happened next.

There was a mellow glow of light above Ash's body, and as it faded, a red and white Pokemon materialized, floating above him. With a long neck, folded wings, and hardened, auburn eyes, the Pokemon before her was obviously very angry. " _SHAAAAOOOOHHHH!"_ she cried out.

May eyed the Pokemon apprehensively. The Latias was hovering around Ash, almost protectively. She figured that whoever the Pokemon was, she knew him. And while the Pokemon wasn't very big, she could see how fierce she was with a look at her.

May stuck a hand out calmingly. "Please, I'm a friend. Just let me come close, I'm here to-"

The Latias fired another Dragonbreath as May stepped near, forcing her back again to avoid being burned as the green fire blasted past her.

She began to feel extremely upset. Ash was right there, yet this Pokemon was standing between him and her. She flinched slightly as a white band of energy soared over her head, a stray fragment of an Ice Beam.

She took another step forward, she had to get to him somehow. The Latias growled, and this time, rather than a green flame, a ball of fog began forming in her claws. Seeing the Pokemon prepare another attack, May steeled herself, then jumped forward.

Immediately, the ball of fog flew forward at her, and May dived for the ground, barely avoiding the Pokemon's attack. She got back up, only to be slammed into as Latias tackled her, sending her sprawling across the sand, breath knocked out of her. May gasped as she struggled back to her feet, breathing raggedly. A sharp pain shot through her chest, it felt like one of her ribs had broken. She looked around, the Latias had disappeared. She attempted to take a step forward once more, not giving up, when a flash of light caught the corner of her eye. Another ball of green fire had begun forming in the air.

May's eyes widened, and she didn't even have time to react as what would be the final Dragonbreath shot at her. She wasn't in any shape to react, and the flames were almost licking her skin, before…

"CHUUUUU/GLAAAAA!"

A combined swirling ice and electric energy swooped past her, colliding with the Dragonbreath and pushing it far to the side, out into the ocean where the three attacks detonating underwater, sending up a spray of foam. May looked over to the side, and she felt a swell of happiness at the sight that greeted her.

A battered Pikachu and Glaceon, both panting heavily, stood there, glow of their energies fading. They both ran forward, standing in front of May protectively. "Glaceon, Gla!" Glaceon said looking around warily.

There was a movement in the air to their left, and Pikachu reacted first. Jumping up, Pikachu twisted around with a glowing tail, swinging forward before stopping, sparks flying in the air revealing a long wing. Seeing some of the Pokemon it was attached to in the light, Pikachu twisted around further, slamming to right right and meeting a much softer target this time.

A high pitched cry rang through the air as Pikachu and a larger body fell out of the air, becoming visible. A large, red and white Pokemon fell to the ground, kicking up sand as a Steel Wing faded.

Pikachu landed, cheeks sparking fiercely, but the electricity slowly faded as he looked at the Pokemon. "Pika Bi?" he asked.

The Latias' eyes clenched shut as she let out a low squeal of pain, before levitating back up, the glare of anger reentering her eyes. But, the glare softened as she noticed the Pokemon in front of her. "Shao?"

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said happily. "Pikachu, Pikachu Pika Pikachu, Pika Bi."

May felt a small sense of surprise at how Pikachu seemed to know this Latias, but got past it. Turning away from the Pokemon, she ran as fast as she could over to Ash, heartbeat quickening. And when she got a close look at him, a scream almost left her mouth.

What she could see of Ash's face was extremely pale, almost white as clouds. His clothing looked like he had been in a fight with an Ursaring and lost badly, cut to ribbons. Blood, thickened by the cold it had been in contact with, was slowly congealing over wounds, soaking the fabric and making it stick to his skin. His raven hair was hardened with frost, and his lips were blue from the same symptoms. The rise and fall of his chest was extremely limited, to the point where she may have been imagining it happening.

Her joy of finally finding Ash was becoming mixed with a horror at the condition he was left in. The deep sinking feeling she felt throughout her entire body, was this how he had felt, looking at her broken body when she fell from that cliff?

"What do I do?" she whispered, feeling helpless. She didn't know how to help him. She wasn't a doctor, none of her Pokemon knew any recovery moves, unless Munchlax somehow got a Heal Pulse out of Metronome, but even if they did, her Pokeballs were locked. She had no way to heal him.

Her body shook as the tears pooled in her eyes. "Ash…" she whispered, the hot liquid dropping as she blinked.

There was movement behind her, and Pikachu and Glaceon came running around her side, stopping before the trainer on the ground. A bright flash lit up the air, coming from the battle, but they didn't pay it much attention.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked sadly, in shock.

"Gla?" Glaceon asked, looking down at the marred figure.

"We have to help him…" May said. "But… I don't know how… How do we do it?"

Only the cold winds and battle cries seemed to answer. Then, something happened…

Suddenly, May felt weightless, being lifted up into the air. She looked around in shock, not knowing what had happened, and she realized Ash's body was rising with her. She felt herself be settled down on a soft, thin being, colored red and white. She was shocked, as the Latias set both herself and Ash on her back.

Latias turned her head around, facing May, eyes no longer hardened, but rather, sad and apologetic. "Shaoo…" she whined quietly, looking up at them.

May didn't know how to respond to what was happening, but she had a feeling that the Latias was trying to help. Whoever she was, she obviously knew Ash from before he had left them to have known Pikachu as well, and she wanted to make sure Ash was okay too. She could carry them to help.

May thought back to her earlier thought. She may not have been a doctor, but she did know one… One who would do everything in their power to help.

"Brock!" she said. "We need to find Brock!"

She looked around, trying to get her bearings. "Brock was staying over in that neighborhood" she said. She looked back down at the ground. "Pikachu, Glaceon, come on!" she said to the two little Pokemon.

Glaceon began to walk forward, but she stopped when she realized that Pikachu wasn't following her. Pikachu's ears were twitching, and he was glancing to the side. Both May and Glaceon followed Pikachu's gaze, and immediately knew what he was thinking. "No, Pikachu" May said.

Two small Pokemon, one green and white, the other blue and black, darted around the massive blue bird that was raining down frozen hell on the beach. Sparks leapt from Pikachu's cheeks, and he faced them. "Pika!" Pikachu said defiantly. At that moment, May knew, he wouldn't back down from this fight. He was still tired from his battle with Zapdos, but it wasn't like him to just walk away from a battle. Especially once he reached that tone.

"...Ok…" May said reluctantly. Glaceon seemed reluctant to leave Pikachu behind, but she was in worse shape than Pikachu after taking the Thunderbolt to use Mirror Coat. She slowly climbed up onto Latias, who was hanging low in the air to let them climb on. "Pikachu, be careful" she said.

"Pikachu Pi!" Pikachu nodded, before turning towards the battle, going down on all fours and tail stuck high in the air.

Latias began levitating higher into the air with some difficulty, not used to carrying any passengers, let alone three. She glanced up at May, questioningly. May didn't say anything for a second, looking at Ash, before she remembered the severity of the situation. "Oh, we need to go that way" May said, pointing in the direction that Brock's house was in. "As fast as we can."

Latias nodded, before she folded in her wings and flew as fast as she could in the direction May had pointed her in. The wind whipped their faces, May held tightly onto Glaceon, while maintaining one hand on Ash. She felt as if she let him go, she wouldn't be able to find him again. He had been gone for so long, feeling him was all that kept her from breaking down at his condition.

A single, sparkling drop, fell out of the air as they soared for help, falling down towards the ground, and landing with a simple _splash_ , lost in the roar of the winds.

* * *

 _ **Beach**_

* * *

Seeing the red and white dragon soar off into the distance, Pikachu steeled himself and turned back around to the rampaging Articuno. He was tired, and unlike the Zapdos, he knew that he didn't have any sort of natural defense against those attacks. But, neither did Articuno.

Dashing forward, Pikachu kicked up sand running across the beach. There was an explosion ahead of him, and a green shape flew out of the smoke. Reacting with his training, Pikachu leapt into the air, catching the falling Pokemon and hitting the ground rolling, depositing the Pokemon before springing high with great power, cheeks sparking as his body lit up lighter than the sun, before crashing into the bird with a massive electrical blast.

Down on the ground, a Riolu pushed himself back to his feet, blinded by the yellow neon light. "Was that the Zapdos?" he asked.

Pikachu fell backwards through the air, and was shocked when the Articuno looked relatively the same as she was before the attack. Helpless, Pikachu had the wind knocked out of him as an iron-clad wing dunked him towards the ground. Just as he was about to make an impact with the sand, he felt himself slow, landing very lightly on the ground.

A small flash of light appeared next to him, and a Kirlia flashed into existence, flashing a quick smile. "Thanks for helping me there, I'm glad I could return the favor" she said.

A light footfall sounded beside him, and the Riolu stood forward. "You're a brave one, taking on this thing like that" he grunted. "But you should get out while you still can. Trust me, you don't want to be here."

Pikachu gave a tired grin. "Are you kidding? I used to fight like this on a regular basis" he said. "My trainer sometimes thinks I tripped and swallowed a Light Ball when I was younger."

Riolu dashed forward, Focus Blast held in his palms, and slammed it upwards, protecting the group from an Ice Beam. The connecting forces detonated, pushing the three of them back, but leaving them relatively unharmed. "Judging by that electric attack you just used, I don't doubt it" he conceded. "But you don't get it. We won't let an innocent bystander get hurt. Leave this giant frozen chicken to us."

Those words gave birth to a particular idea, and before either of them could react, Pikachu sent up his strongest Thunderbolt, mere static electricity making Kirlia and Riolu's hair stand on end, while lighting Articuno up like a beacon. As the electricity faded, the two glanced at Pikachu in _shock_ , while Pikachu shrugged. "Well, I can't just be an innocent bystander anymore" he said smartly.

Riolu blinked, then readied his fists, smirking. "You know, you're just a little crazy. I like that. Fine, go on, you can help fight this thing."

Kirlia laughed lightly. "You remind me a lot of Riolu here. No wonder he'd like you."

Riolu glanced back and forth between the two. "Hey, I have an idea…" he said.

"Oh, that's what I smelled" Kirlia laughed again, prompting Riolu to give a fake frown.

The three had to react, leaping high into the air as Articuno soared down at them with a Steel Wing, twisting in the air to barely avoid the attack. As Pikachu and Riolu rolled, and Kirlia floated down, Riolu looked at the massive bird. "I'm not joking" he said. "This thing is still a Pokemon, it's still got weaknesses. And with this little guy, maybe we can exploit them."

"Me?" Pikachu asked.

Riolu nodded, explaining quickly as the Articuno wheeled around in the air. "It's a bird, it can be shocked out of the air. If we combine electric moves, maybe we'll have a way to put it down for good. I have a Thunder Punch, Kirlia, your best Shock Wave, and you seem to pack one hell of a Thunderbolt. If we can distract it with an explosion…"

"You'll use Thunder Punch to conduct the other moves, and try to hit it with one focused attack" Kirlia said admiringly. "That's really smart."

Pikachu's tail began glowing gray as he brought it up into the air. "I've got the distraction covered" he said, leaping forward. Articuno hadn't reacted again yet, and before it could, Pikachu faked it out with an attack, beginning a swing before flipping forward, landing on Articuno's back. Surprising the bird, she wasn't able to react before the already dark sky darkened even further, and a massive blast of lightning came roaring down out of the sky. The blast of lightning connected with Pikachu, being conducted through his body into the shimmering plumage of Articuno.

Pikachu wasn't sure how to follow up, but as the attack coursed through him, he suddenly felt a surge of power, as if his strength had increased tenfold, just like he had when he was fighting Zapdos. The power surged through him, and as the attack ended, he sprung through the air, electricity congealing around his tail as he twisted around and flicked a massive Electro Ball through the air, which connected heavily, detonating and filling the air with smoke.

The force blew through the air, knocking Pikachu back. He spun, landing on all fours and skidding backwards. "There, good enough?"

Just like before, he seemed to shock the two Pokemon with his display of power, but they had no time to lose. Sparks travelled down the arms of both Pokemon, while more flared around the cheeks of Pikachu. Riolu stepped forward, fists crackling like thunder as the smoke began to clear.

"Are you ready?" Kirlia asked.

Riolu nodded. "Let me have it!" he said, legs tensing.

Blue electricity travelled down Kirlia's arms, and yellow likeness spread across Pikachu's body. Riolu sprung into the air with all the force he could muster, and he spun, the power from his electrically charged fists sparking around him, just as the two bolts flew off, and Riolu gathered them in, becoming as brightly lit as the midday sun.

The smoke cleared, revealing Articuno to the surroundings a mere instant before Riolu pushed forward, and delivered a nuclear-level Thunder Punch directly to the front of the massive bird. Articuno let out an earsplitting shriek, soon silenced as Riolu reached back and slammed down with his other fist, sending both himself and the bird careening towards the ground, a plume of sand rising into the air.

Riolu sprung back from Articuno, electricity fading, but as he hit the ground, he nearly blacked out on the spot, his power fading. "Ugh, why do I feel like I was hooked up to a Zekrom's tail?" he muttered in a delirious fashion. "Oh, wait, that's why…"

His legs gave out, but he felt a pair of arms catch him before he could smack against the ground. "Thanks Kirlia…" he groaned.

He could feel her worried glare on the back of his skull, it made his skin tingle. "Thunder Punch didn't work like a barrier, huh?" she asked.

"Not as much as I would have liked" Riolu admitted. "That guy packs electricity like I haven't felt since out mission in Unova…"

Riolu suddenly felt extremely disoriented, and he became weightless. When he felt his feet reconnect with the ground, the air felt much colder, and a shriek rang through the air. This got his attention enough to push himself back to his feet. "What… She's still not down?" he asked. "We, we really aren't strong enough…"

There was a flash of white light that streaked across Articuno's body, as Pikachu dashed across and cut sideways with an Iron Tail, fueled by the speed of a Quick Attack. As he cut away, Articuno swung a wing at Pikachu. It wasn't a Steel Wing, but the impact was enough to send Pikachu flying backwards through the air. Twisting as he flew, fighting through the pain, Pikachu let an Electro Ball fly.

Riolu held his hands to his side, and energy began to form, a Focus Blast, but the energy dissipated before it fully formed. Frowning, he tried to do it again, with the same results. "Riolu, don't try to strain yourself right now" Kirlia said.

"We couldn't do it…" Riolu grunted again. "He's fighting, but that thing is still strong… We… I think we lost…"

Articuno dived at Pikachu, talons outstretched, and Pikachu darted to the side, getting out of the way before wheeling around with his tail glowing, and began spinning on the spot, sending out sharp bursts of steel-colored electricity, slamming into Articuno repeatedly with high effectiveness, but not enough to deal critical damage to the Legendary. Abandoning the fusion move, Pikachu lit up with electricity and ran across the beach, each step he took turning the loose sand into molten glass. Chasing down the airborne Pokemon, Pikachu sprung into the air with Volt Tackle, but didn't have the push necessary to reach Articuno, and fell back to the ground below.

Articuno wheeled around, much faster than expected, and unleashed a blinding fast Ice Beam, slamming Pikachu through the sand, coated in frost and plowing a large trench. Struggling, Pikachu barely managed to stand up, before collapsing, breathing heavily. "Chaaaaa…" he groaned, not even having the effort to make a real word to express his exhaustion.

Frowning determinedly, Kirlia stepped forward, the last one of them in any condition to still fight. Pikachu was on the brink of fainting, and Riolu was out of power. Pushing her hands forward, she unleashed a wave of Psychic energy through the air, bombarding Articuno with a Confusion attack, but the move wasn't nearly enough to limit Articuno's movement, and it wasn't showing any visible damage.

Abandoning the Confusion, Kirlia braced herself on the spot, multiple rainbow lights appearing around her, before sending a storm of Magical Leaves high into the air, each one shattering against Articuno's body uselessly.

Articuno wheeled around in the air, diving towards the two of them. Riolu was barely standing, and Kirlia stood her ground. Opening her hands, a solid orb of Psychic energy formed, and she unleashed her Psyshock, bursting against Articuno who flew on through, diving down at them, wings glinting cruelly.

Articuno was coming fast, and Kirlia had used Teleport so much, she wasn't sure she could muster another right now. She tried to build up some energy, enough for a Reflect, but she wasn't sure she could do that either.

Both her and Riolu cross their arms in front of them defensively, trying to minimize whatever damage they would take. The roaring sound of cutting through the wind was growing ever closer, and they closed their eyes, preparing for the final blow.

Articuno dived down between them, and slammed into them dead on, sending them high into the air, bodies wracked with pain. Riolu fell unconscious before they hit the peak of their rise, and Kirlia was struggling. They crashed back to the ground, feeling as if they had broken all the bones in their bodies. Kirlia couldn't breath, wind having been knocked out of her lungs.

Flying back around, Articuno let out another shriek, before hovering down before them. The air grew rapidly colder as ice particles were being shedded from her wings, giving them the feeling of being encased in death. The sky seemed to grow even darker, the cold wind biting like knives. It was too much, Kirlia fell unconscious from the experience.

Articuno looked down on the destruction caused on the beach. Several spires of jagged ice, trenches, craters, the bodies of Riolu, Kirlia, Pikachu, Electivire, and Paul all lying within them. Specks of red were in a spot below. Nothing had gone untouched from the attack.

" _RAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_ Articuno shrieked in triumph, relishing in the destruction.

For a second.

A high-pitched whistling sound rang through the air, and as Articuno turned, there was an unmistakable wall of attacks crashing down towards her. Gouts of fire, blasts of lightning, beams of Psychic energy, purple mist, jagged stones, blades of wind, a massive stream of water, and waves of erratic green power.

The enormous amalgamation of attacks struck Articuno directly, before she could react, and sent her crashing towards the ground. An armada of Pokemon, Pidgeot, Butterfree, Volcarona, Lapras, Primeape, and Rotom, backed up by the might of Zapdos and Moltres, landed on the beach.

The two massive birds stepped forward, and before Articuno could do anything else, the two unleashed their most powerful attacks, Fire Blast and Thunder, striking the Ice and Flying Type from two angles, and immediately, the ice titan fell over. Articuno struggled, but the combined might of her two brothers was too much, and she fainted.

Every one of them immediately stumbled low, getting into a resting position. None of them were free of battle wounds, even Zapdos and Moltres. Pidgeot and Volcarona used their Roost techniques to attempt to rest up.

"So, unless they brought big daddy along, we should be in the clear, right?" Pidgeot huffed.

Moltres nodded gravely. "Those bastards took us, but they didn't dare try to draw out Lord Lugia. The crisis should have passed…" His gaze hardened. "As soon as I give those same bastards a send off worthy of Yveltal!"

Nodding at Moltres' words, Pidgeot lowered her head, breathing deeply, and something caught her eye. "Riolu, Kirlia!" she exclaimed, flapping over to the two fallen Pokemon, noticing something else in the air. "Pikachu?!"

The three Pokemon laid lifeless in the frosted beach, at the mercy of the elements. Pidgeot flew to each of them, checking them worriedly, and feeling relief when their hearts were still beating. "Primeape!" she called.

Grunting heavily from exhaustion, Primeape lumbered over to the scene. "Ah, that's where these two went" Primeape grunted. "Are they ok?"

"I don't know" Pidgeot admitted. She glanced around, an unknown sense of dread becoming apparent. "Where's Ash? Riolu was with him, and he's gone."

Primeape struck a thinking pose, then glanced back. "Maybe when Frosty wakes up, she'll have the answers."

"They don't have that kind of time" Pidgeot said. "Help load them onto my back, I'll take them back to the clearing. We have berries there, and maybe Latias will be there too. We have to help them!"

Primeape nodded and grunted out a "Right!" Moving fast, he jumped over and picked up all the limp Pokemon in one go. Rushing back over, Pidgeot leaned down, letting Primeape toss them on as quickly as possible.

Pidgeot spread her wings, wincing slightly, sore from all the battling that she had been doing. Flapping hard, Pidgeot took to the air, barely clearing the treeline before she hit, and going as fast as she could for the clearing, hoping to find a way to save the three on her back. "Come on, you guys, hold on" she said. "You two have survived worse before, and Pikachu, _boy_ do I remember what you could do. I won't let this be what does you in, so you guys better not either!"

* * *

 _ **Residential District**_

* * *

Latias descended to the ground rapidly, with May's directions. May's own house just a few feet away, they set down in front of the house emblemized with the numbers 389. She wasted no time jumping down off of the Eon and running up to the door as fast as her legs could carry her, Glaceon running behind her. She pounded on the wooden frame so hard that she could have woken up the dead, but she didn't care.

There was a shuffling sound behind the door, before it cracked open, revealing the tall, dark frame of Brock. "May, what are you doing out?" he hissed. "It's dangerous out there-"

"Brock, help!" May cried out, effectively stunning the Pokemon Doctor.

"What, what happened?" he asked her.

May gestured behind her and stood aside, not able to say the condition that Ash was left in. Brock opened the door and looked where she had pointed, and promptly froze in shock. Not at the Legendary Pokemon floating before him, but…

"May, is that-" Brock stuttered out.

"Please, help him" May said.

Breaking free of his shock, he ran outside. Latias floated forward, bringing Ash closer. It only took a moment for Brock to register the Pokemon before him as the same Latias that Ash had met in Alto Mare all those years ago. But now wasn't the time for that. Reaching out, he picked up the body of his friend off of Latias' back, and rushed as quickly as he could back into the house.

May rushed inside after him, not wanting Ash to leave her sight, even for a single second, with Glaceon following her. She was dimly aware of a light flashing behind her, but paid it no heed, too focused.

Brock ran over into the living room, just as a figure emerged from a basement door. "Brock, what's going on?" Lucy asked.

"There's no time to explain, Lucy" Brock said. "I need some help with this, run upstairs and get my tools."

At that moment, Lucy realized the body that Brock was carrying. She didn't recognize it, but she did recognize the severity of the situation, and ran to fetch what he needed with question.

Brock swung his arm wide, clearing the coffee table of anything on top. "May, I need towels" he told the young brunnette.

"Wher-" May began to ask, before remembering that these houses were mass produced. The same place she'd found her towels…

She ran over to where she remembered the linen pantry to be, and grabbed a massive armful of clothes, immediately rushing back to Brock's side. A simple nod told her what she needed to do, and she spread towels out over the table, covering the entire surface, and getting out of the way so that Brock could set Ash down on the table. She still had a few rags in her hands.

Two women ran into the room, Lucy, and another, wearing a green skirt and with spiky brown hair. Lucy held a large bag of medical supplies, which Brock immediately accepted. Grabbing a sharp instrument out, he made a clear cut straight down, splitting the blood-matted cloak in two .

and pulling it off. The legs didn't have as many injuries, and weren't as caked with the fluid, so they could be easily rolled up.

May couldn't help but let out a small shriek when she saw what had really happened to the Trainer. Across his torso, he had countless gashes, most at least an inch wide. They weren't too deep, but much deeper than a normal scratch. The skin around each cut was slightly swollen, and pale blue from the cold, looking almost frostbitten.

Brock frowned. Looking around, he noted who was there. "Latias, could you get me a bowl of hot water?" he asked.

May glanced over, and didn't see Latias anywhere. But, when Brock asked that, the new girl nodded, running over to where she could get into the kitchen. Any other time, she would have questioned it, but she was too worried right now.

In a few seconds, Latias came running back out, a bowl full of steaming water levitating in front of her. Brock grabbed it, and one of the remaining cloths from May, soaking it in the liquid, before he began applying the cloth to each of Ash's wounds. He scrubbed gently, but enough so that the congealed blood came off. Each time he finished with one, the color seemed less blue.

The girl stood next to May, looking on, intently and worriedly. May looked to the side, still having trouble believing that Latias was capable of taking a human shape. Something rang in the back of her head, Ash once telling her about an adventure with a Latios and Latias, and she figured that this must be the Latias from that story. If so, it was no wonder that she appeared to be just as worried as she was.

Lucy ran up with an empty trash can, which Brock nodded gratefully for, taking it and tossing the bloody rag in. Taking a bottle of disinfectant out of his bag, he began spraying some into each wound, the spray turning to foam on contact. May hoped that that was a good sign, that it was supposed to foam to remove any germs.

Grabbing another fresh rag, Brock wetted it and wiped the wounds clean of the disinfectant as well. Tossing it in the bin, Brock stood up and ran into the kitchen, coming back with an armful of berries in a bowl, a large mortar and pestle as well. He quickly mashed the berries into a paste, a sickening green, and set it aside. Reaching into his bag, he came back out with a spool of thread and a thick needle.

He quickly began to stitch Ash's wounds, each gaping crevice slowly growing smaller and thinner as time went by, seconds like minutes, minutes like hours.

When he finally gave the last stitch, he picked up the berry paste he had prepared, and began scooping it out, and spreading it over each stitch, covering each wound up completely. Grabbing some large bandages out of his bag, and covering even the paste underneath the heavy layers. And even after that, Brock took out a large roll of gauze, and began wrapping it around Ash's entire torso, mummifying him, almost.

Time seemed to fly yet crawl, and the entire process took fifteen minutes to complete, and Brock finally stood up straight, his dark face pale. On the floor, away from the table, laid a large dark hat, and a pair of gloves with white gems embedded within.

Brock let out a trembling sigh. "I, I've done all I can" Brock said.

May was terrified of his tone. "Is… He…"

Brock nodded. "I think so" he said. "Any longer, and we might have had a problem. Those wounds may have gotten frostbite by then, and it's easy to remove a finger or toe, but that much, it would be impossible. You got him here in the nick of time, May."

May felt herself tearing up, and didn't trust herself to speak. The fear she had felt, still terrified her with how intense it had been, and she broke down crying, falling to her knees and letting them fall from her eyes.

"Glaaaa…" Glaceon cooed, rubbing up against her trainer comfortingly.

It took several minutes for May to calm down. Having to push her feelings aside in the heat of the moment, it all hit her at once, almost more than she could handle. After letting her recover, Brock helped May back to her feet, which she appreciated.

Lucy stepped forward. "Listen, I know things are bad, but we should get back into the cellar. We still have three angry Legendary Pokemon out there, and we need to be protected.

May hiccupped. "No, things are good now" she said. "I saw the Moltres fly towards Zapdos and attack it, and Pikachu was helping take care of the Articuno. I think… That we don't need to go down there."

Lucy glanced out the window skeptically, it it was true, there was no sign of any fighting still going on out there. No flashes of lightning, or bright Ice Beams. Seeming satisfied, she nodded. "Well, I think we have a lot to talk about" she said.

Brock nodded. "Come on, May" he said. "I'll make some cocoa for all of us, we can warm up, and you can tell us exactly what happened."

May wiped her eyes clear of the remaining tears, and nodded. "Ok…" she said quietly.

* * *

The three of them sat at the table. Glaceon lied on the floor, next to May, while Latias never left the living room, opting to stay there and watch Ash.

The steaming mug was sat in front of her, and she picked it up, taking a sip of the sweet beverage, the warmth filling her inside and helping to seemingly dispel some of the fear she felt. She looked up, and nodded to Brock, silently thanking him for the cocoa and giving him the go sign.

Brock took a sip out his own mug, and looked back. "May, how… How is this even possible?" he asked. "How is Ash here?"

May let out a shaky breath. "I don't know…" she admitted. "I just found out that he was here… Without knowing how."

"You knew?" he asked.

May nodded. "I left my part of the Terracotta Ribbon at home one day" she said. Brock nodded, knowing how important that Ribbon half was to her. "While we were out, Max pointed it out on the ground, and we thought that I must have grabbed it out of habit, and dropped it. But, when we got back, my half, it was still in my drawer."

Brock felt surprised. "You mean, Ash's half was just lying around?" he asked.

"Yes" she responded. "And Pikachu proved it was his, he could smell Ash on it. And, then, I just knew, he was still out there."

Brock's eyes widened. "How long ago was this?" he asked.

"Two days" May admitted. Before Brock could respond, she continued. "I really wanted to find him on my own, and I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up if we were somehow wrong" she said, covering herself.

Brock could understand that. He was a little upset, but he could understand where she was coming from. "So, what happened next?" he asked.

"I was looking all over the island" May said shakily. "I searched for him far and wide, until the Legendary Pokemon attacked earlier. When me, Pikachu, and Glaceon were trying to get away, I heard a scream."

"A scream?" Lucy asked. "Was it..."

"Yes" May said. "When it happened, I followed it, and it led me straight to Ash, just as he took an attack from the Articuno…" she trailed off as the gory image, still fresh in her mind, assaulted her once more. "And, when that happened, Pikachu stayed to fight the Articuno to let us get away."

She took another sip to attempt and dispel the chills. The table was rather silent, even though May had given a heavily abbreviated version, it still hit them hard. Brock and Lucy looked at each other in shock.

"And, where's Pikachu now?" Brock asked.

"I don't know…" May whispered. "He wouldn't come with us, he insisted on fighting that thing. I hope that he did it, I know Pikachu is really good at this kind of thing, but I'm still worried about him too…"

"..." Brock didn't respond, still letting it all sink in. Looking over to the living, room, he still saw Ash lying there, bandaged heavily with Latias watching over him. "So what now?" he asked.

"What?" May asked.

"What do we do now?" Brock asked. "I'm just as ecstatic as you that Ash is back, but what does it mean? Why did he stay away, what has he been doing, is he leaving again? I wish we could get the answers from him, but we need to let him rest now. We can't chance waking him up."

"I know, it's gnawing at me too" May admitted. "But… I don't think he's going to leave us."

Brock nodded. "That isn't like Ash, but leaving in the first place wasn't either."

"Brock" May said. "Ash left last time, because the last thing he saw of me was that I was dead. However he stayed alive, he was living knowing that I had died. I don't think he could face anyone after that… I know I couldn't have if we were reversed…"

May started to feel extra emotional again. She hadn't truly considered what he must have felt until now, but, she thought back. She began seeing all the pieces put together.

" _Aaron had a Riolu…"_

Near where Ash was, there were two Pokemon already fighting Articuno. One of them was a Riolu.

" _A cloaked trainer…"_

She wouldn't have recognized him if his hat hadn't fallen off. He was completely camouflaged to them.

" _A blue energy began to leak out of him… I only felt a fraction of what he carried on him... No wonder he was so withdrawn, he must want to never feel anything again…"_

" _I doubt we'd be sharing a house with an Aura Guardian…"_

" _I ran a broken man from because I couldn't respect his privacy…"_

 _The half of the Terracotta Ribbon lying on the ground…_

Ash was Aaron, that was his cover name. He had been in so much pain, even after three years, that he still felt that strong about it. She could barely believe it, and she doubted, even with what she felt, that she could comprehend it either…

Brock let May sit for a minute. Standing up, he walked into the other room, letting her absorb everything slowly. Brock came back in a minute later, still pale from what he had witnessed. "I asked Latias if she wanted to come sit" he said. "But, I guess I should have known she wouldn't have wanted to leave his side."

"Hm?" May asked, looking at Brock. "Did you know Latias?"

"A little…" Brock said evasively. "I just should have already known the answer is all."

At this point, Lucy noticed something up with Brock as well. "Come on, Brock" she said. "What are you keeping us in the dark about?"

Brock glanced sideways at May in an almost nervous fashion. "Trust me, it's nothing" he said soothingly. At least, he attempted soothing. His will quickly crumbled under the glare Lucy gave him that would put her Seviper to shame. "Fine…" he muttered. "Latias, she, well, she may or may not have a crush on Ash."

You could suddenly hear a speck of of dust settling on the floor, the kitchen grew so quiet. In truth, neither of them expected anything of the sort that Brock had revealed. Brock quickly felt extremely awkward standing there, but felt as if he were frozen as well.

"What?" May asked. "How do you… Know?"

This was why Brock hesitated to tell them, but his big mouth got him into trouble. May had revealed almost as soon as Ash left, her feelings for the trainer. Knowing that he had a partner in the form of a love interest, well…

Brock let out a sigh. "A long time ago, just before we left Johto, we took a vacation to go see a town called Alto Mare for a few days…" he said.

"Ash told me the story" May said.

"Did he say how it ended?" Brock asked.

"Yeah" May said. "Latios and Latias both went to save the city, but Latios was hurt, so it took his life and turned him into a new Soul Dew. You guys barely got any rest, and spent the next day remembering Latios, before you had to catch a boat back to the mainland the next morning."

Brock let out an internal groan. "Yeah, little detail that was left out. I can't blame him, it was a little awkward for him to discuss, even around us."

May eyed Brock warily. "What?" she asked.

Brock rubbed the back of his head. "Well, as we were pulling out, a girl ran up along the pier to say goodbye. She looked like Bianca, but that was the form Latias always took, and she wasn't wearing her hat, which she used to distinguish herself from Latias. And, the person who came up, gave Ash a sketch of him and Pikachu, and, well…"

At this point, Brock was stuttering, but Lucy filled in the blanks when he couldn't seem to go on. "She kissed him?" she asked.

Brock nodded hesitantly. "Yeah…" he muttered. "And, later, when we had a chance to talk with Bianca again, she said that she was sad that she didn't get to see us off that morning…"

May blinked. A Pokemon, a Legendary Pokemon, had kissed Ash, her Ash, before she had even met him. And, over the past few years, Ash was travelling around with her…

Despite being able to understand, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She knew Ash was probably too dense to have understood what it meant, but that didn't change her deeper feelings about the whole deal. She knew Ash had countless adventures before he met her, during their adventure, and well after, and things happened a lot. She could still remember how down in the dumps he was after Lucario passed away.

"I wouldn't worry about it" Brock said, noting May's worried face. "It was just a kiss on the cheek, nothing serious."

That made her feel a little better. She knew she was acting a little irrational right now, so she tried to push past it. She drank the last dregs of her cocoa and set the cup down. "Brock, how long until Ash wakes up?" she asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure" Brock said. "My worst Pokemon patients have had wounds less than this and took a while to recover. Ash was always a fast healer, but I don't know if it caught up to him or anything that might have happened in the past few years."

"What about a Pokemon?" May asked. "A Heal Pulse, or a Recover, or something? Your Chansey knows Softboiled!"

Brock sighed. "Those moves aren't as strong as they seem" he said. "Starmie can regenerate lost limbs with Recover just because their bodies are made that way. Heal Pulse, Softboiled, those kinds of moves, they're only meant for minor cuts and bruises, healing energy, making you feel better when you're sick, not closing wounds of that size and making the person completely better. Trust me, I studied all of this stuff at Pokemon Medicine School."

"Oh…" May said. "So we can't do anything else?"

"Not right now" Brock said. "We've done all we can, now we just have to wait, and hope nothing else happens in the meantime."

Words that should never be spoken. When you voice your hope, the universe loves nothing more than to crush it. At that moment, a bright light radiated out of the living room, catching the attention of all three of them. May stood up, ready to run into the room, when suddenly, a low growl fell over the group.

A power, one that made them all tremble just from the atmosphere, began moving towards them. Turning the corner, a purple, humanoid Pokemon appeared, and the face, the pure rage emanating from its face, was the stuff of nightmares.

"You're the ones who did this…" he growled, hand extending, and a sheen of purple energy extending outwards, solidifying into a blade.

"Mewtwo?" Brock gasped in shock.

Mewtwo raised the Psycho Cut as he heard Brock, but slowed as he got a good look at him. "I remember you…" he growled.

Brock saw his opening. "Mewtwo, listen, I don't know what you think, but we didn't hurt Ash" he said. "We've been trying to help him!"

Mewtwo's attack lowered further. "I believe you…" he admitted. "For now. I remember our last encounter, and you. However…" he glanced around the room. "I do not recognize these two. So, explain to me, what exactly happened to the Chosen One?"

May's breath caught in her throat. "Chosen One?" she asked.

Mewtwo glared at her. "Do you know what happened?" he growled.

Terrified, May nodded as fast as she could. "Good" he said. "Then I will see."

At that moment, May's mind went completely blank. She couldn't sense anything, at all. Then, as quickly as it began, May fell back into her own body, head pounding slightly. She felt unbalanced, and nearly fell backwards, before Lucy darted forward to catch her. "Are you ok?" she asked.

For a moment, May forgot how to speak. But she found her words. "I… Think so" she said.

Mewtwo's Psycho Cut dissipated, and he looked down at the two of them. May tensed up again in fear of this Pokemon. She hadn't recognized the name before, when she talked to Misty, but now she remembered. The Mirage Lab, Dr. Yung had created a fearsome Pokemon, Mewtwo. She hadn't remembered the name, until she saw the Pokemon itself.

"My apologies" Mewtwo said, surprising the group.

May and Lucy stood up straight, and Brock walked beside them. "You must understand, my mind is running high right now" Mewtwo growled. "I just finished taking care of some Rocket bastards, and when I come to find the Chosen One in this state, things did not look good for you through my eyes."

"Apology accepted" May said shakily, a sense of relief filling her again. "You… Know Ash?" she asked.

Mewtwo looked at the coordinator. "You appear to as well" he said. "Ash, yes, you could say that we are, partners. That is part of the reason I reacted so strongly. His current condition could be devastating to our goals."

"What goals?" Brock inquired.

Mewtwo shot Brock a glare. "None of your concern" he said. "We are the only ones to know the mission here."

Brock was taken aback at Mewtwo's tone. "I thought you just said you trust me?" he asked.

"I said I believed you" Mewtwo corrected. "I trust no one besides the Chosen One and his allies."

"Brock…" May whispered. "Do you know why Mewtwo is calling Ash 'The Chosen One?'"

"No" Brock said back. "Ash was named the Chosen One as a prophecy in the Orange Islands, Misty told me, but that was all."

Mewtwo turned around and floated out of the room. Confused by what he was up to, the three of them followed him. Mewtwo came to a stop in the middle of the room, and gave a nod to Latias, before levitating Ash's body.

"WAIT!" May cried out, rushing forward. "What are you doing?!"

Mewtwo looked down on her. "I am returning to our base" he said. "We must take stock."

"You can't take him!" May shouted defiantly. "You can't take him now, not when I've just found him!"

"He doesn't want to be found" Mewtwo growled. "He stayed with me because he wanted secrecy, and after the way he has serviced the world, I shall be damned if I let a premature human ruin his desire for solitude!"

"You don't understand!" May said. "He left because he thought I died!"

Mewtwo, who had been about to respond angrily, to shut her up, instead found himself to be the silenced one. Ash's body slowly fell back towards the table. "You…" he said. "You are the one that he has done this over?"

May nodded, tears streaming down her face. "And I thought he was dead too, but then we found him! Please, you can't do this, not after all this time!"

Mewtwo turned, and fully faced May. "And how am I to be certain that you are telling the truth about this?" he asked. "Because where I come from, returning from the dead isn't a very common occurrence."

May steeled herself. "What you did, just a bit ago, you were looking at my memories? Do it again."

Mewtwo appeared slightly surprised that she was recommending this course of action, knowing how distorting it was, and the pressure it put on the mind, essentially forcing the person out of their body during the process. But he didn't hesitate, and did exactly what she recommended.

"..."

"I see…"

May nearly fell over again, but she was caught by thin arms, Latias supporting her, and setting her down on the couch gently. She nodded gratefully to the disguised Eon Pokemon, feeling slightly awkward about her conversation earlier, but thankful nonetheless.

Mewtwo glanced around. "I see it was not only the Chosen One affected by this event" he said. "But many of those involved as well."

Recovering quicker the second time, May nodded. "Will, will you leave Ash?" she asked.

Mewtwo gave a curt nod. "I shall" he said. "I believe that it is in the best interest of the Chosen One to become acquainted with this knowledge."

May let out a sigh of relief. Ash had almost been taken from her again, and she was ecstatic that she had been able to prevent it. "Thank you…" she said.

And, at that moment, it all seemed to catch up with her. The stress of the Birds attacking, and finding Ash, the attacks from Latias, and everything altogether that she had felt over that day. In almost an instant, her eyes closed, and she passed into a deep sleep.

Brock and Lucy both walked over, and picked her up, carrying her between them. "We'll have to move her into a bedroom" Brock said. "And we should probably set up Ash in the other. A glass table isn't exactly a good spot for recovery."

"Allow me to assist with the Chosen One" Mewtwo offered, and once more, Ash's body began levitating into the air. Closing his eyes, Mewtwo began to guide him upstairs without having to follow him. There was the sound of a door opening, the depression of a bed, and the door shutting.

Brock and Lucy were back down after a minute, getting May situated. Brock immediately grabbed a jacket and walked up to the door. "Ok, Dawn, Gary, and Max will probably be worrying themselves to death about May by now" he said. "I'll go get them, and bring them over. If I know them, then they probably know about Ash being back too. I'll bring them over, let them know May's ok, and show them Ash if they want to see him."

"But are we sure that the Birds are no longer out there?" Lucy asked.

"I came to the surface a few minutes ago, it would appear the fighting has quelled" Mewtwo said. "It is safe out there, I personally sent the majority of those bastards packing, either in their helicopters, or in body bags."

Chills ran down the spines of the two as they heard Mewtwo's dark tone. They couldn't tell if he was joking, but they wouldn't put it past him. "So it's safe" Brock said. "I'll be right back, they're only a few houses away."

Lucy gulped. "Yeah, sure thing" she said. "I'll see you in a minute."

Brock gave her a quick peck on the cheek, before zipping his coat up and stepping out the door, into the chilled air.

* * *

 _ **Later**_

* * *

It was as Brock had expected all around. When they heard May was with him, they were extremely relieved, but nothing compared to when he told them that someone else was there too. All four of them, Piplup included, rushed right past him, without bothering to grab anything.

They were initially surprised at the appearance of Mewtwo, but got over it quickly enough. After checking to make sure that May was ok, they rushed to the room where Ash lay. To say that they were all shocked at his condition was an understatement, but they were also ecstatic to find him still breathing.

Eventually, they made their way back downstairs, and they traded information. Brock learned everything that they had been doing and seeing, while he himself shared back what had happened since May knocked on his door, as well as what she had told him about that day. Similarly to Brock, as the Birds struck, they hid in the house, attempting to stay safe, but they had worried about May, and whether or not she would let a little thing like a Legendary Pokemon attack get in the way of searching for Ash.

They also made the promise to wait to let everyone else know, at least until, hopefully, Ash got back up. They didn't want to cause pandemonium if he somehow didn't pull through. The damage to them would be severe, there was no need for any collateral. Mewtwo and Latias both joined them eventually, and seeing as all of these people were extremely close to Ash, began sharing small bits about the past 3 years. Mewtwo remained stoic, however, on disclosing information on the mission they were on.

The sun began setting, and even through the clouds, the land became much darker quite rapidly. At one point, three lights in the distance took to the air, one yellow, one blue, and one red, and flew away from the island. It appeared that the Legendary Bird Pokemon were done here, and had taken their leave.

Later into the night, Mewtwo vanished somewhere, only to return with a satchel of Pokeballs, as well as cradling 3 heavily injured Pokemon. A Riolu, a Kirlia, and Pikachu. Brock went to work immediately, helping the three recover. And all of them were back on their feet before midnight. Riolu and Kirlia were nervous, being around so many people. Riolu growled and got in front of Kirlia when Dawn approached, before Mewtwo explained the situation. After that, they calmed down, but still maintained a distance, at one point leaving to go view Ash. Pikachu had yet to tell them about his origins with Ash, somehow, that had slipped his mind.

None of them could sleep until late that night, things were too intense for something like sleep. At one point, around half past one in the morning, May woke up, and came downstairs to what could almost have been a party, by all the people there. She was extremely relieved that Pikachu was fine, and felt a lot of her tension leave when she found out. Everyone split their remarks between congratulating her for finding Ash, and helping not feel so down about his condition. Of course, that only reminded her, of the way his body was broken, down in the sand…

Eventually, they got a message on the T.V. in the living room. Much of the arenas had been destroyed in the attack. Thankfully, there were no casualties, Pokemon or human, but due to repairs being needed to be done, the rest of the tournament would be delayed by a week. 7 days before things were back on, those Birds had really knocked the island for a loop.

Mewtwo went out back, and released all of Ash's Pokemon, save the two Lapras, so they could stretch and rest. They were exhausted from all the battling they had done, but luckily, besides Riolu, Kirlia, and Pikachu, all of them had escaped relatively unscathed. Max was immediately interested in Ash's Pokemon, especially Pidgeot, having heard about what it had done just as a Pidgeotto, and wondering what it could do as a fully evolved and heavily trained ace. Pidgeot, Primeape, and Butterfree all recognized Brock, but Rotom and Volcarona, similar to Riolu and Kirlia, maintained a safe distance.

When they were all released, Latias stepped outside once more, finally transforming back into her true form, feeling to cool air on her feathers. Greeting the team, she began to tell them all that had happened, and why they were here. They were worried about Ash, as everyone was, but they had a strong conviction that he would be fine, based off of what they had seen him handle in the past three years.

May sat in the kitchen, people all around her, and while her worry for Ash was bigger than anyone's, she couldn't help but give a small smile occasionally. Even if he wasn't up, Brock had promised her Ash would be okay given some rest.

It was almost 4 in the morning before they started turning in for the night. Brock and Dawn stayed in the kitchen, talking. Max and Gary went back to their place around the same time. Lucy had gone upstairs, letting May know that she could spend the night at this house if she wanted to remain closer to Ash, an opportunity that she gratefully accepted.

She tried to be a part of the conversations downstairs, but eventually, the day caught up with her again, having not slept it all off. Bidding the others good night, she stepped upstairs and made her way to the remaining guest bedroom, before laying down in the bed and closing her eyes.

* * *

 _ **?**_

* * *

Ash's dream made no sense, which was good, he wasn't sure he could handle sense right now. Of course, when you go to the extreme in the other direction, it doesn't do much good.

Ash was down in some sort of field, a storm raging above, as he dueled Arceus himself. It was less of a duel, and more of an attack directly from Ash, as Arceus didn't retaliate at all. He felt a sickening swoop of anger as he constantly swung his Bone Rush at the Alpha Pokemon.

"I've constantly served you, for years on end!" Ash roared as Arceus backed out of reach once more. "Every single second of every single day, feeling nothing but pain. Yet you _still_ make me go on protecting this world that _you_ messed up by allowing evil to breed."

Arceus' face was passive as Ash attacked him in two ways, verbally and physically. The Bone Rush connected directly on the bridge of his head, and he didn't flinch.

Ash growled. "You may think it's easy, choosing one person to clean up the mess. But you have _no idea_ what it's like! You go off and take a vacation in some alternate dimension and leave me here, suffering and subservient!"

"..."

"..."

"ANSWER ME!" Ash bellowed, swinging again, this time, connecting so hard that the bone shattered, and leaved a burn across Arceus' face from the aura that burst forth.

Any other person would be afraid of attempting to wound a god, but Ash felt his rage fuel him past the normal boundaries of any other being. A look flashed through Arceus' eyes, but not one of rage. It was indescribable.

"You made this world!" Ash roared, abandoning the pretense of using a Bone Rush and merely fueling his fists instead. "You made the evil, and you forced me to be your puppet that fights it!"

Sinking his fist as hard as he could into the side of the Alpha Pokemon, he continued shouting. "What, did you kill off May too? Because she was distracting me from being the perfect slave to your faux utopia? DID YOU?!"

Ash was self aware that he was in a dream, he had no reason to let up. Standing back, he cradled an Aura Sphere in each hand, and blasted Arceus repeatedly, forming a new sphere every time an old one was used. "WHY ME?!" he bellowed, keeping up the continuous fire. "WHY ME?! WHY ME?! WHY ME?! WHY ME?! WHY ME?!"

"I HAVE GIVEN EVERYTHING TO YOU!" he kept on shouting. "I saved the world before I was labled your Chosen One several times! I already gave my entire life to helping out the Pokemon of the world! I saved your sorry carcass before I was even born! Is this how you say thank you?! Enslavement with a fancy title?!"

Ash felt completely drained, he had shouted until his throat was sore and kept blasting the Pokemon until his Aura was expended. He hadn't even made Arceus feel hardly anything.

Taking a deep breath, his rage refueled him, and he charged forward once more, energy congealed around his fist as he made to attack him once again, but he found himself frozen.

 _"Stop this, Ash"_

He felt whatever had stopped him release him, and glared at Arceus spitefully. "Why should I?" he spat. "Don't like hearing stuff that makes seem anything other than some sort of benevolent, caring creature?"

 _"Ash, I understand your rage"_ Arceus sympathised. _"The burden I have placed upon you is a great one..."_

"You think?" Ash asked sarcastically.

Arceus nodded. _"You must understand, for there to be a true balance in the universe, I must give free will to my creations. And with all will comes the potential for evil."_

Arceus levitated into the air, Ash following him, lifted along. The scene began to shift around him. He looked down on a storming sea, one island in the midst of the brine, and several clashes of light and roars echoing from below. The Battle of New Island...

Ash and Arceus settled down in the midst, just as Mewtwo and Mew sent powerful blasts at each other once more, and the younger version of Ash ran in between them, struck by the torrents of Psychic energies.

 _"I know better than anyone of your exploits, your care for the world"_ Arceus said as he watched the replay of the battle. _"And in return, the world cares back."_

As he said that, the Pokemon tears began sparkling across the field, and the stony body of Ash's younger self began to restore. _"You have a gift, to not only combat evil, but to turn it"_ Arceus said. _"Mewtwo was once your fiercest adversary, a truly evil being. Yet you showed him the light, and now, he is most closely bonded with you."_

Ash growled, and thought of another place to take their conversation to. The scene warped, and suddenly, they were in a rustic town, surrounded by waterways, as a massive tidal wave careened towards them. "Yet evil still wins sometimes" he shot back. "I have to win just to keep things normal, time and time again. But if they even half wins once..."

The tidal wave burst apart, and Ash willed himself and Arceus forward, and just in time, to watch the faint spirit of the noble Latios, vanish forever, leaving Latias alone, and tired, falling towards the water.

"And even when it doesn't come down to sentient beings!" Ash shouted, changing the scene once more, arriving in a crystalline cavern, a place that still haunted Ash on occasion, as Lucario fell to the ground, and vanished in a cloud of blue energy. "Needless death, by the work of your own nature!"

Arceus grew quiet, which angered Ash. "WHAT IS IT?!" he shouted. "You more prattling on about my gifts or special talents? No, because YOU KNOW that neither of them had to die. Minimal evil, or no evil at all at work, resulted in two of my friends' deaths! And I'm supposed to believe that my work to help the people and Pokemon of the world balances out like this? No, but that wasn't enough, things weren't balanced yet, no..."

It pained Ash, but he couldn't stop himself. He took Arceus, to a storming cliffside. Winds and lightning that would put Rayquaza and Zekrom to shame. Two figures, running down the path, before a bolt of lightning struck down, knocking one person off. The other tried to catch them, but... They slipped nonetheless.

Ash felt the tears stream down his face, seeing what had happened as if it had happened only yesterday. "Latios, he was noble, he gave his life for a cause" Ash said lowly, venomously. "It wasn't fair, but he made the choice. Lucario, he did the same. But... What happened to May... Don't you even DARE try to muck this as another Tauros' shit excuse of balance. She did absolutely NOTHING to deserve that, she was hurt, SHE WAS KILLED, and in the process, I was brought to complete and utter servitude in isolation, in constant pain, as part of YOUR plan for this world!"

Ash turned to fully face Arceus. "WHERE IS THIS BALANCE? BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL DON'T SEE IT!" he roared, drowning out even the roar of the approaching Charizard. "Is this your idea of balance?! Those who give live in endless pain, or die, while the villains never let up?! THE SCALES WERE TIPPED LONG AGO, YOU FRAUD! WHETHER EVIL WINS OR FAILS, I PAY THE PRICE IN THE END!"

Arceus turned to face Ash. _"The balance is not always even"_ he said. _"And to those caught in the disturbances, it never appears to be so. You focus on your burden, rather than count your blessings."_

"Blessings? From you?" Ash replied scathingly. "Don't make me laugh."

Arceus gave Ash a solemn look. _"As much as you wish to blame me, I am only partially at fault"_ he said. _"I do not control this realm with a magic ball as you think I do. I created this place, and let it flourish independent of my touch, save for few instances..."_

"Like when you tried to destroy the world?!" Ash growled. "Face it, even being good is an illusion. When it came down to it, you were more evil than Mewtwo ever was."

Arceus let out a sigh. " _I can understand all you are saying, Ash. Your words do pierce me, and sometimes, you do hit close to the truth. but what you fail to realize, is that I am not the one full to blame, and beyond that, for everything you have experienced thus far, you still have your own long path before you."_

"Great, I can go on and lose even further!" Ash growled. "Who are you going to kill of next, Arceus? Mewtwo? Latias? Riolu? Or maybe you'll take someone in my old life out of play and find a way to make sure it reaches me. Maybe you'd like to kill my mom, or even Dawn, or Brock? Anything to cause me pain, right? I don't want to be the Chosen One, I'll serve my duty, but if Death comes calling, I'll be on the first ride out, just you watch!"

Arceus closed his eyes. _"I can believe that, Ash, it saddens me."_ his eyes reopened. _"However, hold out for now-"_

"Oh, yeah, of course, anything for your majesty" Ash growled.

 _"Ash"_ Arceus said, becoming stern for the first time. _"I may not be able to see or control what's ahead, but believe me when I say, I see a more positive future ahead of you quite soon..."_

"False promises..." Ash muttered. "I can no longer have a bright future, thanks to your balance."

A dark fog rolled across his vision, and the image of Arceus began to fade. _"Perhaps, but I would see... The balance always rights itself in the end..."_

Ash felt his body become light as he lost all vision. "I'll believe that... When I see it."

* * *

Ash's eyes shot open, and he gasped in pain. "Oh... This is what confetti feels like..." he groaned, memories of what last happened rushing back to him. The Articuno, the Blizzard/Hurricane tag attack, Riolu...

"Rio?"

"Lia?

Ash took a second to recognize the sounds, but when, with difficulty, he looked to the side, he couldn't help but break out in a smile when he saw Riolu and Kirlia each standing there, looking a little battered, but in high spirits nonetheless. The two immediately ran over to him, looking on to him with a worried expression on each of their faces.

"Hey you two…" Ash grunted, reaching down and tustling their heads a little. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Rio, Riolu Lu!" Riolu shook his head.

"I can be sorry for worrying you even if I was the one who took the attack" Ash countered. "That's different."

"Lia Kirlia" Kirlia said.

Ash grunted in pain, letting it pass. "You too? I do have something to be sorry about if I… You know what, fine, you guys win."

The two nodded in unison, making Ash chuckle. Only after he stopped, did he begin to wonder something. "Where, am I?" he asked. He could feel the soft surface of a bed beneath him, and while he couldn't see much else, there was faint light leaking in through a windowpane a few feet to the side. "Ugh, how'd I get back into one of these things?"

Looking down, he noted that he was covered in bandages. From his waist to just below his shoulders, he was wrapped in gauze. "I guess someone tried to patch me up…" he grunted. "I hope they did a good enough job…"

Holding his hand out to the side, a blue light materialized in the air, and he formed a Bone Rush. He began breathing hard as soon as it was brought into existence, telling him more about his condition than he cared to know. If he was so weak that the tiny bit of Aura it took to use Bone Rush was doing this…

Steeling his resolve, he planted the bone in the floor, and pushed himself into a sitting position. His body screamed at him so loudly he was sure it was literally making noise that could be heard in Kanto. He felt like his torso was being torn apart by torture tools, and it took all of his effort not to do anything more than grunt.

Having to brace himself once more, he pushed down again, and got to his feet, shaking and putting almost all of his weight on the bone. His legs wobbled, and he fell forward, barely catching himself on the wall, his knee colliding heavily with a dresser. He let out a sharp, low swear word as the pain shot through his body again, and pushed himself back up.

"Sorry guys" Ash said back to Riolu and Kirlia. "Come on, let's head back."

Kirlia and Riolu both nodded, and as Ash hobbled to the door on his crutch, Kirlia opened it with Psychic, the door creaking slightly as Ash stumbled out into the hall.

"We just gotta, find out, where we are, then we can head back" Ash grunted. "Come on, you two…"

"..."

* * *

May had barely closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would take her soon, when she heard a light thumping noise through the wall. She was initially too tired to even recognize it as something, until it happened again, quite a bit deeper this time, and there was a creaking sound.

Immediately, her eyes were wide open. She slipped out from under the covers, and cracked her own door open slightly. She didn't see anything at first, but soon, a dim blue light began to shine in the hall…

A glowing staff was the first thing she saw, even that dim glow blinding in the near pitch black room. There was grunting, and some low words exchanged, as the figure fully stepped into the light. Light shining off the bandages, messy raven hair barely visible, May's breath caught in her throat, as Ash stumbled into the hall.

She couldn't believe it, he was already up. Something was rooting her to the place, even more effectively that Glaceon's Ice Beam, she found herself frozen, in what felt like a combination of fear and joy.

And just as the figure began stumbling away, she found the strength, to break free. She pushed the door open and jumped into the hall. "Ash!" she said.

* * *

Ash had taken a few steps down the hall, when all of a sudden, a voice rang in his ears. "Ash!"

Ash froze, seemingly even down to the blood in his body stopped moving. That voice, a voice he could recognize from anywhere. The voice that haunted his nightmares and filled his dreams. A voice, he never thought that he'd hear again.

He knew he must be losing it, but, he couldn't help himself. He turned, facing the way he came, and his eyes widened.

Moonlight seeping through the doorway, illuminated the figure, the one he'd lost forever. "M-May?" he could hardly breath.

The figure in the moonlight nodded, and suddenly burst forward, rushing to him, and throwing her arms around his shoulders, and held him tight. Ash couldn't believe it… Her touch… It felt real. And, everything, felt real. The sobs he heard as her head rested on his shoulder, the heat of tears on the same place, and the pain he felt from his wounds, but they didn't seem to matter.

"Ash… You're… You're…" May kept sobbing, holding him even tighter. "You're here!"

"M-May…" Ash whispered coarsely. "Is, are you, really…"

May lifted her head, and stared at Ash directly. "Yes…" she whispered. "Ash, it's really me…"

Ash looked down, then back at her. "Then… Am I really…?" he began to ask, but May shook her head, knowing what he was about to say.

"You aren't dead, Ash" she whispered. "You're… You're back… Back with us… Back… With…"

And before she could finish her final word, she closed the remaining distance between the two, leaned in close…

And kissed him.

* * *

 **I'll keep this brief, none of you want to read author notes after that.**

 **I love Advanceshipping, but does it get any easier to write? Talking about their love is one thing, but when it comes down to the proximity and the kiss at the end there, it kind of felt hard to write.**

 **Forgive me if I have upset you. I'm hopeful that you enjoyed the chapter, but I'm pretty sure some hardcore Advanceshippers out there may be a bit infuriated that I dared mention Altoshipping. What can I say, it's my second favorite ship to sail on, I wanted to at least reference it. Besides, you all know it's basically canon as far as this story is concerned. It wasn't Bianca, and you know this.**

 **I considered Riolu and Kirlia both evolving in a rage against Articuno, and completely destroying it with their new powers, but when I sat down, it didn't feel right. I feel much better about the end of the fight that I created instead. Besides, we haven't had enough time with them to evolve them yet, right? Of course, they will evolve eventually. I have plans for both of them...**

 **Quarter is about to end, so hopefully, you'll have another chapter by Christmas. Hope you all enjoyed, I would love it if you would drop a review on the way out, and until next time, Happy Holidays!**


	12. Awakening

Time seemed to freeze completely, crawling across an eternity at the speed of molasses. The cold air burned simultaneously with heat and a fierce chill. And Ash felt all of his thinking power disappear in the space of a second.

His mind seemed to want to cave in on itself from a surplus of overload. Everything seemed so dreamlike, it was impossible to handle as something real. It couldn't be real, it was a dream, or something else.

There could be no way, that the one he knew he had lost forever, the one that he had had no time to say goodbye to before she was torn away from him by a cruel twist of fate. She was here. Standing right in front of him. Kissing him.

After an eternity in the position, Ash felt their lips separated, and May looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"M-May..!" Ash said.

"Ash!" May cried, squeezing him in a fierce embrace. Every single cut on his body was screaming bloody murder, but Ash couldn't care less.

"It… It really… It really is you?" Ash gasped, for the first time in three years, truly joyful, and dumbfounded. He held her just as tight as she held him, feelings as if he didn't, she would disappear again. "But… How…"

"You saved me, Ash" May sobbed, hot tears staining his bandages. "I thought, I thought you had left me, I thought, you had given everything for me, again…"

"And, I thought I failed, that I let you…" Ash couldn't bear to say the word "die" right now. His emotions were too close to the surface. "I… May…"

But at that moment, he couldn't continue. His ability to keep standing could have decided to save the universe, and he would have still lost his ability. His wounds struck sharply, and Ash let out a groan as his Bone Rush dissipated.

"Ash?!" May asked in shock, doing her best to support the heavy body as he collapsed. Riolu and Kirlia helped brace Ash as he fell down, and leaned him against the wall, breathing hard. "Oh, Ash, I didn't think, about…"

Ash shook his head. "No, don't worry… About it." He looked up at May. "I… I would have given both of my legs for this moment…"

Riolu and Kirlia looked onto their trainer worried, as his breathing was ragged. Kirlia closed her eyes, and her hands began to glow a soft yellow and pink. Pushing her hands forward, Kirlia used a Heal Pulse on Ash, causing his breath to even out, and grow lighter as his energy grew slightly stronger and the pain lessened. "Thanks…" Ash managed to mutter out as the relief set in.

May kneeled down next to him, the tears still streaming down her face. "Ash…" she whispered, caressing his face. "I missed you. Every single day, for these past three years, it never stopped."

The faintest of smiles appeared on Ash's face. "May, I feel… I feel just the same… Every day, I wanted nothing more… Than to end… To join you… But… I'm glad… I… did… nnnnn…"

The Heal Pulse had done more than its job, and without the sharp pain keeping him going, Ash fell back unconscious, head slumped against the wall. His breath grew very light, and his eyes closed.

May felt a sort of indescribable joy fill her as she watched him. "Ash…" she couldn't say his name enough, the simple action of saying it was almost intoxicating. He woke up. He was okay. He was truly back with them.

She reached up and touched her own lips lightly, a sort of tingling sensation filling her, like electricity. She had kissed him… She didn't know what made her, but she kissed him… And Ash… He didn't shy away. He, he had returned it, however weak he may have been.

Kirlia's eyes glowed blue, and Ash's body floated back into the air. May hurried and opened the door, letting him glide on through without a barrier. Settling down on the mattress, Kirlia's glow faded, and Ash settled on the bed.

For the first time, the two being in a close proximity, Riolu looked up at May with a curious gaze as May looked on at Ash. "Lu…" he growled thoughtfully.

Hearing this, May glanced down at Riolu for just a second questioningly. Riolu looked up at her, the flaps around his head raised up slightly. May didn't know anything about Riolu himself, or as a species, but she couldn't become curious to what he was doing. Her mind was too scattered yet focused on Ash.

Tearing his gaze away, Riolu looked over at Kirlia. "Riolu Ri?" he asked.

Kirlia glanced up at May, before closing her eyes. A second later, her eyes opened again, a very confused look upon her face as she nodded to Riolu. "Kir Kir Lia" she said.

As much as May wanted to help Ash get better, she knew that there was absolutely nothing that she could do. But, she couldn't leave him either.

Walking into his room, Riolu and Kirlia beating her to it, she pulled up the chair in his room next to the bed, and sat right next to him. She let out a deep breath of relief before she wiped the last of the tears clinging to her eyelashes away. "Ash…" she whispered, leaning forward, and without hesitation, kissing him on the forehead.

"I love you…"

* * *

 _ **?**_

* * *

"Where… Am I?" Ash asked, looking around with worry. He blinked, and his world came into focus, sharply. "Oh…"

For the second time in one night, Ash witnessed a magnificent flash of lightning, sprawling across the clifftops. A roar shot through the air, as an orange glow flew off. The night that had haunted his nightmares more than anything. The night May took the fall…

Ash's breath caught in his throat. No matter what, this memory would always knock the wind out of him, forever. Some scars never healed.

Knowing of his place in a dream, Ash focused, speeding up the progression. He saw the pale halls of the hospital, everything moving except him. His Aura sparking… That was the first time that he realized that Aura was an energy that was prone to emotional tampering.

He was glad that the volume of the memory was distant, so he didn't have to relive the emotional distress he had when he received the news. His vision tunneled, and he saw himself, leaning over May's body, the heart monitor slowly declining as Ash stood up, and a blue glow began to fill the room…

His world went fuzzy, as he saw his own body disappear in a flash of green light. He had discovered, but not known at a time. What he had thought was his final end, was actually Mewtwo, saving him from his fate by bringing him closer to save him. He couldn't have let him die at the time, the world needed him to remain balanced.

 _Balance…_

As Ash disappeared, he didn't leave the cold halls of the hospital. Looking into May's room, he saw her family, grieving at her bedside, before her eyes shot open, quite suddenly, and startling everyone in the room before they all broke down in joy, the joy that she was ok.

If… If he had bothered to return, he could have continued his life. May, he wouldn't have felt his rage, his pain, his angst, all of it, he wouldn't have had to gone through it all. It would still probably have been the worst day of his life, but at least it would have only lasted a day.

But, he had made the error. Rather than confront everyone, he let the words of Norman, the unmeant rage of Misty, he let them get to him. He let them make him run, hide out of shame. Only now did he consider, the pain he must have felt believing in May's death, the same pain, he had imparted onto every single one of his friends. He had been too wrapped up in his own emotional state to consider the others. A sickening twist occurred in his stomach, as he realized _just_ how selfish he had been.

"How can I face any of them now…" Ash wondered. "After all I've put them through, how am I just supposed to waltz back into their lives?"

But, he was thinking cowardly again. "What am I saying…" he asked. "I need to face them… I would have needed to, eventually, somehow. I… I need to do this… I need to explain why I was gone… And take my consequences…"

Ash let out a sigh, and looked up. His dreamscape was fluid, being in control of his Aura gave him much more than physical strength, but it sharpened his mind as well. But, until his body was ready, there was one thing that would be a constant. He would be in a dreamscape, not the real world. For however long his body decided he needed to rest, he'd be here, waiting…

He closed his eyes, and tried to recall what had just happened. Everything had been so hazy, but he knew, he just _knew,_ that it hadn't been another part of his dream.

May, she had been on the island… The odds, he didn't know, but somehow, she was there. She found him, she rescued him from the wrong way out, his misguided attempts to reunite with her. And… She had kissed him.

In all his thoughts, all his dreams, about wanting her back, he had always settled for just her being back. She didn't deserve death, she shouldn't have died. But, he had never considered, the real, possibility, that she, felt, the same…

"She kissed me…" he said. She had moved in, and… It was almost too much to comprehend. His eyes closed, and he envisioned what had happened. The joy, the shock, of seeing her standing there, the tight, searingly painful embrace, and then, he drew a blank… His mind seemed to shut off after that.

He remembered, talking, then some form of relief, before his mind had floated back here. But, even through the murk, the cloudy mind that was his own, his pain, all of it, he new one thing.

"She… Loves me… Back…" he said slowly. The sheer act of saying those words made his mind go fuzzy, before he realized that his heart was pumping so fast, he was about to cause more damage to his body. He did his best to calm down, which he managed, with his Aura control.

It was difficult for him to believe, but it had happened, he had experienced it himself. A small part of him nagged, worrying him that it may have been a hallucination within his dream, one where he wasn't self-aware, but he knew better.

His mind raced at a million miles per hour, but he knew that as long as he continued to stress his brain, he wouldn't be allowing his body much rest on the whole. For now, he just had to be patient, and wait.

* * *

 _ **Morning**_

* * *

Brock started awake, abruptly cutting off his sleep as he sat bolt upright. Having talked until extremely early in the morning, he had crashed on the couch downstairs, while Dawn had passed out at the dining room table. And of course, their topic of conversation was the first thing to come to mind.

His medical supplies still on the floor, he grabbed them and stepped upstairs quietly. It had been a late night for all of them, and as far as he knew, he was the only one up. His eyes threatened to shut on him at every moment, but he had a job to do.

As he got up to the second floor, he let the information that he had had time to process overnight travel through his brain. "Ash, I guess I shouldn't be surprised" he chuckled. "It's not like this is the first time you've cheated death…" he said, thinking back to, well, too many of their adventures. Of all the places for him to be, though, and all of the time he had spent away, Brock had to wonder, why? Mewtwo seemed fully intent on remaining cryptic about it, but obviously knew something about the situation at hand, and even seemed to be travelling with Ash. He had hoped that their experience on Mount Quena would have bought him some trust from the Legendary, but whatever it was extended beyond whatever he was allotted.

Brock pushed the door to the room where Ash had been sleeping open, ready to check up on his friend, and was greeted with a small shock as he realized that Ash wasn't the only one in there. His two Pokemon, Riolu and Kirlia, both laid off to the side, asleep. He had been wondering where the two had gone, and was worried about letting Ash's Pokemon get lost, but it just seemed that they had found their way to their trainer.

The other addition to the room was more of a surprise, however. May was there, sound asleep in an armchair that had been pulled up alongside his bed, as close as possible, her head hung over the back.

Brock could have sworn that May had gone to the other free room, but if he had to hazard a guess, she probably couldn't bear to not be with Ash until he was better, no matter the time it took. Which was an understandable choice on her part.

Stepping forward, Brock gently pulled the covers off of Ash, giving him full access to his bandages. There were some darker spots in the white cloth where fluids had stained it, but things were not bad. Pulling out some gauze and a small pair of scissors, he went in and began to remove the tainted cloth, before applying fresh bandages to the spots.

There was a light shuffling sound off to the side of the side of the room, and Riolu woke up. Stretching largely, Riolu let out a bleary yawn and got into a sitting position. For a moment, he was lax, but tensed up as he noticed Brock in the room. He relaxed slightly as he recognized him, but remained on guard, still not completely familiar with the man.

"Riii…" Riolu yawned. Standing up, he got up from the place he had slept and walked over to the other side of the bed to get a better look at his trainer. He was no longer as death colored as he had been the previous day, but he still lacked much of the color that usually existed in his skin. "Lo Lu" he said as he boosted himself up beside Ash, settling on the mattress.

Brock glanced up as he cut away another piece of bandage. "Good morning, Riolu" he greeted the young Pokemon.

Riolu gave him a sideways glance, and nodded in response. "Riolu, Rio."

May began to stir in her chair as the two of them made noise, and she cracked her eyes open slowly. Sitting up, she rubbed the blurriness out out of her eyes and looked around. "Hi Brock" she said, the tiredness quickly leaving her voice. "What's happening?" she asked.

"Just changing his bandages" Brock replied. "How'd you sleep, in that chair and all?"

May stood up, popping her neck. "Better that you'd think" she admitted, before quickly looking down at Ash. "How is he?"

"He seems like he's in better shape than he was last night" Brock said. "He isn't bleeding very much, and he's improving at quite a quick rate." Placing the last bandage on, he reached into his bag and pulled out a thermometer, and placed it in Ash's mouth. After waiting for a moment, in which May fully woke up, Brock pulled it out and looked at the reading. "98.23 degrees fahrenheit" he said. "Pretty normal temperature."

May rubbed her eyes, and memories of last night came back into sharper focus. Getting up, seeing Ash…

She felt her face warm uncomfortably as she recalled just how she had acted, how she pushed forward into, her first kiss, with Ash. She wondered how red she looked at that moment, on a scale from powdered blush to Blaziken's feathers. And it didn't go unnoticed by Brock, who glanced over and raised his eyebrows. "Are you feeling okay, May?"

"Huh?" May stammered, caught off guard. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You look a little warm, do you feel like you have a fever or something?" Brock asked.

"That's just from… Sleeping on my arms" she said badly. "You know how your face gets warm when you rest your head on your arms, right?" She was grasping, and she knew it. She didn't know why she was so hesitant to tell Brock that Ash had gotten up last night, but it was one of those irrational things that she couldn't help.

Brock glanced at her, and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I probably would have looked like that after sleeping in a chair, if my skin was more pale" he said, turning back to Ash. "If he doesn't awaken by the end of the day, we'll have to find a way to get him some nutrition" Brock noted. "I don't have any IV tubes on me, so we might have to take him to the Pokemon Center if things come to that."

May looked down at Ash, laying on the bed. He looked better than he had the previous day, and it had been too dark to gauge his condition in the darkness of the night, but she had hoped that he only needed a night to sleep, considering how he had been able to get up and move around before.

Brock stood up straighter and picked up his bag. "I'm going to go put this away, then start making something to eat for us" he said. "No sense worrying ourselves to death here."

May nodded. "Yeah, I guess getting some food would be good for us" she admitted. "I just, I'm still worried about leaving Ash's side."

Brock nodded understandingly. "I know, May" he said understandingly. "You don't have to leave him right now, it'll take a bit to make things. I'll call you when-"

" _Nnnnnnnnnnnn..."_

Brock stopped speaking mid-sentence, and stepped away from the door, back into the room. May heard it too, and turned around. "Was that him?" Brock asked.

Ash still appeared near lifeless on the mattress that he laid on. But, as the two glanced at him, another sound was made. " _Nnnnnnnnnnnn…"_ a light groaning sound was emitted from his throat, as his fingers moved ever so slightly.

Brock raised his eyebrows. "Wow, he really is a fast healer, isn't he?" he asked. "I thought he'd be in a sort of coma for days, and now he seems almost like he could just wake-"

Ash's eyes shot open, and he sat up at lightning speed, one arm out in front of him as the large, pale blue staff formed in his hands, striking out in a large arc around him. Riolu had to quickly lay back, as flat as he could, in order to avoid being clocked, and while the arc wasn't quite wide enough to strike the two others, the wind that whipped them still caused them to flinch backwards. Across the room, Kirlia woke up in shock as the force breezed past her as well, raising a protective Light Screen instinctively.

May and Brock stared at Ash, shocked into freezing. Ash's arm was held out to the side, the bone held firmly in it, but almost as soon as he shot up, he let out a loud grunt of pain and collapsed back on the bed, bone disappearing. "Gah…" he groaned, eyes closed as he clutched at his shoulder with his other hand.

May got over the surprise of Ash's sudden awakening much faster than Brock, and stepped forward, hand over her pounding heart. "Ash?"

Ash's groan ended quite rapidly, and he turned to his side, glancing over towards the doorway. His eyes were mostly closed, bleary with pain from his sudden exertion, but he still saw her. "May…" he muttered in a semi-delirious fashion.

Brock stepped around, as wide-eyed as he could be. "Ash? How are you?" he asked, a combination of worry for his condition, extreme joy at seeing his friend alive, and confusion over the whole situation morphing his face into something indescribable.

Ash's eyes moved slightly, glancing over at the Pokemon Doctor. "Brock?" he asked. "Wow… You're here too…"

Riolu sprung up from beside Ash. "Rio, Riolu Ri Rio Ri!" Riolu barked sharply, chewing out Ash for nearly decking him. "Lu, Riolu Rio!"

"Heh… Sorry about that…" Ash grunted at Riolu.

May rushed forward, kneeling down by the bed. "Ash, are you ok?" she asked worriedly, reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ash's body twitched and slowly, he began pushing himself into a sitting position. Brock and May looked at him, slightly awed that he was already moving, with his condition. After a minute of struggling, Ash pushed himself up, slouching forward, breathing hard, before looking back up at May. "Never better…" he panted.

May couldn't hold herself back, and she flung her arms around Ash's shoulders, holding him tight. Even after all she had gone through last night, it still felt so dream-like, so hard to believe that Ash was here, right in front of her, after all of this time. "Oh, Ash" she said, muffling with her head buried in his shoulder.

She felt a comforting pressure around her body as Ash hugged her back. She had never felt so warm, so protected before in her life. She never wanted to leave this embrace.

But after quite an amount of time had passed, something broke the bubble she had felt herself in. Brock re-entered their vision out of the corner of their eyes, and she let go, sitting back.

" _I've missed him, I've missed him_ so _much"_ she thought. " _But… I can't just keep him from the others… I can't be selfish."_

"Hey Ash" Brock said with a smile on his face, sitting down on the bed on the other side of him. "So… How've you been?"

Ash coughed lightly, and it sounded like we was trying to laugh, but just wasn't in the proper condition for it. "I've been ok, Brock" he wheezed. "But I'm better now…"

Brock slung his arm around Ash in such a way that he avoided Ash's injured areas, and gave him a hug as well, which Ash returned. The two were some of the oldest friends, after all.

Ash and back pulled back from each other, and Ash faltered, grunting slightly. As he began to fall back, he felt a sudden support, and saw that May had grabbed him, helping him stay steady. Looking over, he smiled at her, his still-present joy mixing with an extreme gratefulness.

Brock stood up and looked at Ash up and down. "You're still just as crazy as ever" he chided him. "May tells me you were fighting an Articuno with your bare hands?"

"Yeah…" Ash panted. "It was about to do something that would have killed Riolu…" he shuddered slightly, remembering the cruel glint in Articuno's eyes as it launched its combined Blizzard and Hurricane, and the actual experience of being shredded like that. Every blade of frozen wind that whipped him felt like death itself was cutting him apart. He shook it off, blinking. "But this isn't the worst injury I've ever had, I think I'll be fine."

"How can that not be the worst?" Brock asked, wide-eyed. "I was worried that you wouldn't survive there, for a bit."

Ash sighed. "A mission involving a very fiery Heatran that liked to keep things up close and personal" he muttered. "I was literally only burns, cuts, and bruises for weeks."

He'd kept the details as un-graphic as possible, but still noticed that May shuddered slightly when he said that. "But, I made a full recovery then too, and learned something new from the situation."

Ash let out a breath, and tensed his muscles. Fighting past the pulling at him they did, he extended his arm, and a glowing blue light began to fill his palm. Gradually, the light extended outwards, forming a smooth line, before bulging slightly at the end. The glow faded, just leaving the large bone sitting in his hands.

Brock and May were taken slightly aback at that. Brock had witnessed it a moment ago when Ash awoke, as did May, then and last night, but seeing him do it up close was completely different. "What is that, Ash?" May asked.

"It's a Bone Rush" Ash grunted.

Brock raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that a Pokemon move, though?" he asked.

Ash nodded shakily, and then the two realized what he was attempting. Slowly, Ash was raising up, using the Bone Rush to stabilize and brace him as he stood. "Should you be moving so soon?" May asked.

"I'm fine" he grunted, and with one final push, left the bed completely, standing up and leaning heavily on the bone, panting heavily.

Brock eyed the Bone Rush warily, before chuckling. "You know, if you'd be willing to share with us, Ash, I bet we'd love to hear your story."

"You'd lose that bet" Ash grunted, attempting to leave the support of his bone slightly, and stood up straighter. "You really don't want to hear what things have been like for me over these past three years."

Ash breathed heavily for a minute, trying to assuage the pain the had been flung every direction throughout his torso. He was about to fully stand up, but then something happened that knocked the air out of his lungs again.

"I want to know, Ash…"

Ash twisted his head and looked at May. His mouth hung slightly open. "May…" he began, not knowing how to start this. She had no idea what kind of hell he had been through, his story was the stuff of nightmares. Not all of it, but when things got dark, he still had vivid nightmares.

But before he could formulate something he could possible say, May shook her head, a sad look upon her face. "Ash, I know whatever you'd tell us, it wouldn't be easy to hear, but, I still want to know" she said sadly. "I want to know everything about you, I want us to catch up, make up for lost time. Ash, please, if you'd be willing, I'd want to hear everything!"

Ash's eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, he considered refusing, not wanting to inflict the kind of pain the story would bring onto May of all people, who he not only loved, but would more than likely be the one to take it the hardest. But, at a moment, from the look on her face, he knew. She was stronger than she had been in the past, and she could take it, and she knew exactly what she was getting into.

He closed his eyes, a pit forming in his stomach. "Ok" he muttered. "I'll tell you everything." He looked over at the Pokemon Doctor beside him, and nodded at him. "You can listen too, if you want."

Brock nodded. "Ok" he said. "But, first, do you want anything, Ash?"

Ash groaned. "If possible, I want to get out of this room" he admitted. "It's a bit cramped in here for my liking. There's a living room or something, right?"

"Of course" Brock nodded, pulling the door open.

Ash limped towards the door, May right beside him, placing a steadying hand on his back as he walked. As he left the doorway, Brock came out right beside him and pointed them in the right direction towards the stairs.

When they got there, Ash attempted to climb down himself, but without warning, May and Brock worked together, and raised him up into the air. His training prompted him to nearly spin the Bone Rush around and attack, but he managed to restrain himself. It was difficult, this was how he was hard-wired now.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, in the living room, and they set Ash down gently. Bracing himself on the bone once more, Ash limped towards the couch, coming to a stop in front of it, and letting himself down gently. May came around and sat down lightly, right beside him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, while Brock ran into the other room momentarily.

Ash looked at May, a comforting, warm feeling seeping throughout his body as she hugged him. Their close proximity reminded Ash of last night, where they had kissed, in the dark. Ash's cheeks turned slightly red as he recalled the memory, and he noticed that May began blushing as well.

"Ash…" May said. "I… I know, that it goes without saying… But…" she closed her eyes, and leaned in close, kissing him on the cheek. "Ash, I…"

May abruptly stopped as Brock walked back into the room, blushing even more ferociously than before as she pulled just slightly back. Ash, also blushing, looked up, and noticed Brock walking around, a bowl held in his hands.

If Brock noticed their red faces, he didn't let on. Sitting down in a recliner directly beside the couch, he sat the bowl on the table before them. "I figured, you might want something to help you keep up your strength" he said, gesturing to the bowl full of berries.

Ash smiled gratefully at his old friend, and sat back on the couch, and looked into the bowl. His face fell slightly when he looked in it, but reached in and retrieved an Oran Berry.

"Is something wrong, Ash?" Brock asked.

Ash shook his head. "No, just the kind of berry I use for most of my healing nutrition is, well, never mind."

"What berries do you usually have in these situations?" May asked, curious.

"You wouldn't believe me" Ash said. May and Brock both raised their eyebrows at him, and he sighed. "Alright, I use Tamato Berries most of the time."

"Tamato Berries?" Brock asked. "The hottest berry out there?"

"It's not so hot anymore" Ash shrugged. "At least, not for me. One time, I got stranded in an Orrean desert, and my other supplies quickly dried up. Tamato Berries kept longer and have an unbelievable amount of nutrients in them, so they became my main sustenance."

"Wow, I'll take your word for it" Brock said, sitting back.

Ash bit into the Oran Berry, eating the whole thing quickly. He knew that he wouldn't heal well without fuel. After finishing, he let out a breath, and closed his eyes briefly. "One second" he told the two, steeling himself for what was coming.

He practiced his calming trick. Slowly, he willed the Aura in his body to just below the surface. He felt it heating his skin, across his entire body. Focusing, he collected it, congealing into a single entity at his core. With a deep breath, he loosened the ball in his center, allowing it to fall apart, and diffuse evenly throughout his entire body, smoothing his energy and emotions straight.

He was more calm and relaxed now, but he still had an odd feeling in his throat, as if it was preemptively rejecting him saying the words.

But, he'd have to get over it.

"It all starts… Back on that day…" Ash began, his mind travelling back to the stormy skies, the dreary landscape, all of it. As his thoughts travelled, he stopped abruptly, looking sideways at May. "Today…" he said lowly. "This was the day that it happened."

May's eyes widened. It couldn't just be a coincidence that the same day that the two of them lost each other, was the same day, three years later, that they were reunited. "You're right" she said. "And, yesterday was the day I took the fall…"

"A complete inverse of the last time" Ash said. "In almost every way."

At that moment, May hugged him even tighter. His wounds ached a bit, but he didn't mind. He leaned forward, and returned the hug, embracing the young brunnette. After all he had done to reign in his emotions, here they were, swirling around, just beneath the surface, threatening to spill out of his eyes.

Brock watched the two of them, and a small smile played on his face. " _They really do care for each other a lot"_ he thought.

After several minutes had passed, Ash and May slowly separated. May kept a hold on Ash, and Ash still had an arm around May, but they were no longer intertwined.

Ash cleared his throat. "So, back on that day" he continued. "I, I just gave all my Aura, to try and save May. And just as I disappeared, something happened to me. Even though my Aura was blue, I became enveloped in a green light." He paused. "That was a Teleport."

"Brock, you remember Mewtwo, from New Island and Mt. Quena?" Ash asked.

Brock cocked his head to the side. "I remember him from Mt. Quena, but what's New Island."

" _Crap, I forgot"_ Ash thought. "Oh, I'll get to that later."

Brock nodded, and sat back, confused, but silent. Ash continued. "Mewtwo sensed my fading Aura and restored me with a Recover. According to him, it was a law from Arceus himself that I was an instrument of balance in this world, and that I couldn't die yet. I, I still had a world to serve, as the Chosen One."

May hiccuped a bit at that, remembering how Mewtwo had called Ash "The Chosen One" the previous night. Now, the pieces were beginning to fit together. "Go on" she said.

Ash shuffled his feet. "I didn't want anything to do with him, at first" he said. "I had lost my will to do anything, and I was willing to do anything just to keep it all away." He didn't outright say it, but the two realized exactly what he was saying. "Eventually, though, I saw things more clearly. Mewtwo made sure to go find my Pokemon that wouldn't be missed, so that I'd have partners. Pidgeot and Lapras came to help me, and Butterfree gave up a lot to come to my aid…"

He felt slightly guilty. He hadn't meant to send Mewtwo to fetch Butterfree as well, but he saw Butterfree in Ash's memories. When Butterfree had heard of Ash's situation, he split with his mate, who understood why, but it had been difficult nonetheless. "...And Primeape too, he snuck away from his new Trainer to come help. I didn't mean for those two to come, yet they did…" He felt a surge of gratefulness towards his Pokemon, but that twinge of guilt remained.

"Where'd you get the other Pokemon, then?" Brock asked. "I never saw a second Lapras, nor did I see the others before now."

Ash rubbed his eye, and continued. "Well, Volcarona and Kirlia I got after some special missions" he said. "One time, Team Plasma, a Unovan group of villains, attempted to use the Pokemon Kyurem to conquer the region. Another trainer tried to fight them, but was nearly killed by a cruel attack. With the help of Mewtwo, and someone else who was with me, we managed to track down the two other Dragons of Unova, Reshiram and Zekrom."

"I don't know if you know Unovan lore, but Reshiram and Zekrom were said to once be a single Pokemon, while Kyurem is believed to be the animated shell of the Pokemon they used to be, once they had split" Ash gave the rundown. "As such, with a potential threat like this, they were more than willing to help stop Kyurem. I arrived with them, and between me, my team, and the two Dragons, we managed to defeat Team Plasma and free Kyurem from them."

"Afterwards, Alder found me" he said. "Alder was the Champion of Unova at one point, and he was very grateful, especially since I managed to stop Team Plasma while they were targeting his hometown. As thanks, he wanted to invite me back, make me famous so that the world knew what I did. I declined… I wanted to stay anonymous. So, instead, he decided on another gift. His main partner, his Volcarona, had just given birth to a Larvesta. Since he had his Champion's duties, he couldn't raise it very well, and decided to give him to me. And that's how I got Volcarona, that was a little over two years ago."

Ash sat silent for a minute, catching his breath. He wasn't used to talking so much, and it was difficult with his pain anyways. But after a minute, he was ready to continue.

"So how'd you come by Kirlia?" May asked.

"Similar circumstances" Ash said. "Something had awakened Yveltal in Kalos, and it had gone on a spree of destruction, which created a situation where Xerneas stepped in to combat Yveltal."

"Xerneas?" May asked. "Yveltal?"

"A pair of Legendary Pokemon, Xerneas governs life, while Yveltal is destruction incarnate" Ash explained. "The two represent a balance of life and death, but naturally, they clash, even if not on the same level as Kyogre and Groudon."

"Their fight raged through the Kalos wilderness, and when we got news of it, we immediately made for Kalos" Ash said. "By the time we arrived, their struggle had crashed into the largest city in the region, Lumiose City. People were running in terror, as each Pokemon threw each other across the streets, crashing through entire buildings. It was, chaos…"

"What did you do?" Brock asked.

"I let out all my Pokemon, and Mewtwo was beside me" Ash said. "When Yveltal is defeated in battle, it reverts to its cocoon, but the downside is that when he enters his cocoon, it can drain the life of everybody in the nearest several regions." At the horrified look on May's face, he continued. "However, Xerneas' Fairy Aura, it's force of life, can cancel out Yveltal's death basin, and allow people and Pokemon to not be harmed by Yveltal's defeat."

"So while all my other Pokemon and Mewtwo fought alongside Xerneas, me and Pidgeot flew to a cave, deep in the Kalos mountains, called Terminus Cave. There, we searched, and found what we were looking for."

"What was it?" May asked.

"The third Pokemon to the trio Yveltal and Xerneas were a part of" Ash said. "Zygarde. It was in a dormant state, both of them, so it didn't see the war raging on."

"Wait, 'both of them,' as in two Zygarde?" Brock asked.

Ash nodded. "Zygarde is unique, even among Legendary Pokemon. He consists of two cores, one red, one blue, while special cells are scattered around the region Zygarde is overlooking. Those cells are its eyes and ears. And, when the time calls for it, it can summon those cells, and attain the form of a true Legendary Pokemon."

"That sounds intense" Brock commented.

"It is" Ash nodded. "I only managed to awaken one core, the red one. Once it realized the danger that the region was in, it wasn't a matter of bringing Zygarde to the fight, it was a matter of keeping up with it as it raced into the battle. It took the form of a great serpentine Pokemon, and attacked the two, breaking the fight off. Zygarde has another unique power, he can neutralize the forces both Xerneas and Yveltal control. He combined forces with my Pokemon, and he changed our aims. We were to take down both Xerneas and Yveltal."

"But if Xerneas gives life, shouldn't it have been spared?" May asked.

"Xerneas and Yveltal exist as a balance" Ash said. "Xerneas had only awoken recently from its own hibernative state, known as the Tree of Life. Xerneas is conscious more often, but it was the end of its cycle as well. He was to be sealed, as well as Yveltal. Which we accomplished. Zygarde took special care to hide their artifacts, the Tree of Life and the Cocoon of Destruction, far away, where they would not be tampered with. After helping Zygarde, I was ready to leave, but something stopped me on my way out of the region."

"Don't tell me…" Brock said.

"Diantha caught up to me" Ash said. "She told me that she knew a thing or two about keeping your face under wraps while trying to remain anonymous, and didn't wish to pry. But she did wish to thank me. And similarly to Alder, her Gardevoir had recently borne a child, but this time, I was given Kirlia while she was still an Egg. After handing the Egg over, Diantha thanked me, and disappeared without a trace."

Ash thought back. "Kirlia is a little special to me" he admitted. "She's always been a little reliant on me, because she hatched in my care. As a Ralts, she was terrified of a lot, but when it counted, she would show her courage. When she evolved, she got more confident, but she's still pretty shy."

May smiled, as she heard Ash's sweet story about Kirlia. "You always have really cared for your Pokemon, Ash" she said.

Ash smiled as well, his cheeks coloring slightly. Brock asked the next question. "I know you have to get back to the story soon, but what about Rotom, Riolu, and the other Lapras?"

"I'll get to Riolu later" Ash said. "Rotom, I captured more out of need, but he took a liking to me, and I let him stay with me" he said. "This isn't the first time I've had to go out into public, and I captured Rotom so that he could hack my Pokedex, and keep my identity secret. That's how I've been able to get around without there being any trace of me behind."

"And Lapras, well…" Ash's face fell, and he felt a tug of rage in his gut. "I met him under similar circumstances to how I met my own."

Brock's face morphed into a mask of a bit of anger of his own. "I remember that story" he said, voice slightly lower pitched.

Ash nodded. "Lapras washed up on the beach here, the day before the tournament began" he said. "Some thugs were torturing it to get a kick, so me and Riolu sent them packing. But, she was covered in scrapes and bruises, and she was terrified of me, she developed a phobia of people. I had to let my own Lapras out to let her know that I was trying to help."

Traces of tears began to glisten in May's eyes, as she heard about the young Lapras. "Oh, that poor thing…" she said.

"Yeah" Ash agreed. "It gets worse. Mewtwo communicated for me, and apparently, the Lapras was left all alone. Lapras travel in packs, but this one…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Her entire pod were attacked, and killed by a swarm of Sharpedo." Horrified looks appeared on the faces of the two once more. "She was all alone. I promised, I would take her in, and care for her, and try to find her a new family, as soon as I could get off the island." He looked down. "I was hoping, that my Lapras could find her old pod, and that they'd take in the baby."

Ash fell silent once more, as he finished telling them the origins of his team. He closed his eyes as he let the story sink in to the two of them. Reliving Lapras' finding hadn't been easy for Ash either, and the rage that bubbled in his gut refused to burn away easily. He felt a comforting squeeze on his shoulder once more, and felt some of it abate. He found the strength to press on.

"Back to my life over these past few years" Ash said. "I've been in a network, in the care of the sentient Legendary Pokemon. There was the Lugia, who lived deep in the Orange Archipelago, Mew at the Tree of Beginning, Mewtwo atop Mt. Quena, and one called Hoopa, who lived in a desert in Kalos, a place called Dahara City. They've been my only real company besides my own Pokemon, and there was one other who's been with me a lot."

Ash frowned. "I can't believe this… I'm just now worrying about all of them. I have to go check on them, they must be worried sick!"

Ash began to try and stand, but May held him down. "Wait a second, Ash, it's ok" she said soothingly.

"What?" Ash asked.

"We met Mewtwo and Latias yesterday" May said. "They know everything that's going on, and your other Pokemon are ok too, they're just sleeping outside."

Ash had seemed severely tense a moment ago, but he relaxed at hearing that. "Oh…" he sighed in relief.

Brock cocked his head to the side. "Ash, the one thing I have to wonder, though, is why didn't you, you know? Why didn't you come home when you weren't on your missions?"

Ash's face fell faster than a Deoxys entering the atmosphere. "Well…" he said slowly. "I kind of… Didn't want to come back…"

You could hear a blade of grass settle on the floor, as the room became deathly silent. Ash seemed to drop one bombshell after another on them. "But, why?" Brock asked.

Ash's eyes shut tight, and his breath caught. He had tried to block those first several months out of his mind, as much as possible, but now, he had to relive it, just to walk these two through it. "Because… Brock… I thought… My home was gone for me…"

He closed his eyes tighter, as the warm tears began to build up behind them, but he didn't want to let any of them spill. Those times were over, but the wounds they left still ached. "I felt like… Everyone blamed me… For letting May die… And, it felt too painful to stay either way…"

Now May, sitting beside him, was in tears as well. She had no idea that Ash had stayed away, because of her, because he thought she died.

" _It felt too painful to stay either way…"_

May's body shook briefly, as a silent sob wracked her body, which didn't go unnoticed by Ash. She felt the pressure of his arm around her grow ever so slightly, as Ash tried to comfort her. Her, the one that was the cause of his pain...

He sat back, slowly letting go of May, his sudden move making his wounds feel slightly fresh again. He breathed deeply for a few moments, before he was ready to go on. "But, I'm getting a little off topic" he said. "Lugia was the wisest one of all of them, he knew the most about me and my job. He wasn't very social, so I mostly took lessons from him on what I was supposed to do as The Chosen One. We did talk some, and go through certain activities together. I spared against the three Legendary Birds that resided there, the three siblings that worked under him."

"Wait, the three Legendary Bird Pokemon… Is there any chance that those were them that attacked the island yesterday?" Brock asked.

"More than a chance, it was them" Ash said, shocking them.

"But, if they were supposed to be good Pokemon that worked for Lugia, then why would they do that?" May asked.

"Team Rocket found some way to enslave them, put them under their control" Ash said. "I just hope, whatever it was, it managed to be broken."

"The three Legendary Pokemon left the island late last night" Bock told Ash. "I don't think that they'll be coming back."

"That's good news" Ash admitted.

"So what about the others?" May asked.

"Hoopa, well, Hoopa was more the vacation guy" Ash said. "He liked to have fun, and pull pranks. He was very laid back, but when push came to shove, he's very powerful."

"I've never heard of the Pokemon Hoopa before" Brock admitted.

"Kalos is pretty far away, and Hoopa is considered a Mythical Pokemon there" Ash said. "It's only natural that his knowledge is limited outside of Kalos."

"So, if he's so laid back, how is he so powerful?" May asked.

"Hoopa has special rings, they act as portals, able to summon just about anything" Ash said. "And on the rare occasion that we've needed help, Hoopa has been able to summon other Legendary Pokemon to fight by our side."

"No way!" May exclaimed.

Ash chuckled at May's reaction. "Trust me, if a Pokemon is out there, Hoopa can summon it. One time, we were dealing with, well, another mission, and Hoopa managed to call Rayquaza himself to help us out." He shrugged. "But he's only ever gotten that involved on two occasions, the rest of the time, he just hangs out in Dahara City."

"Mewtwo, he's kind of been my main partner ever since the beginning. I hated him at first, but I managed to get over it. We argue a lot, but are able to work really well together" Ash said. "He tends to lead most missions I go on."

"And the last one…" Brock said.

"The Mew we met at the Tree of Beginning" May said.

Ash held his hand forward. Focusing as hard as he could, swirling energy began to take form in his palm, casting a blue glow across the room, and leaving May and Brock bug-eyed. "That's not…"

"Mew was my teacher of Aura" Ash said. "Mewtwo leant help training, because he had some knowledge, but Mew lives in the birthplace of Aura control. He taught me how to harness my life force for powers that I'd need to protect the world. But, Mew could only teach me while I was there."

"That's why, Mew decided to find me a training partner" Ash said with a tone of dramatics.

"So that's-"

"Where I got Riolu, yeah" Ash responded to May. "Riolu is descended from Sir Aaron's Lucario, who had a family in the ancient past that has survived to this day. Riolu joined me out of honor, but we quickly grew close too." He let the Aura in his palm fade, feeling slightly drained as it was. "That's why I knew how to use Bone Rush, because I'm learning how to use Aura like a Pokemon, like Riolu. I learned some other basic skills, like Aura Links, how to enhance my physical abilities, and more stuff like that. Between Riolu and Mew, I probably wouldn't be alive without the two of them."

The last words had a resounding effect on the other members of the group. The job Ash was doing was dangerous, they now knew that more than ever. The way he had said it, made it sound like it was needed for his day-to-day survival.

"It took me a long time to get as far along as I am" Ash said. "And I did most of my training in my second year away… That might have been my best year of that time…"

"Why?" May asked.

"Eh" Ash sighed. "Because, a large part of the second year was the time I forgot everything."

"..." May and Brock frowned. "You, forgot everything" May said incredulously. "But, how, and for a year? Couldn't, like Mewtwo or Mew have helped you get them back?"

"Maybe they could have" Ash shrugged. "If they were even in the same world at the time."

May rubbed the side of her head. "What's with all the riddles?" May asked.

"Oh, sorry" Ash apologized. "I'm used to having to be evasive whenever I talked with someone, it's just become natural."

Brock tilted his head. "So, what exactly did you mean, when you said they could if they were in the same world?"

"Well, that's like a whole story in itself" Ash said. "I'll tell you guys in a bit, there's not much left to the story, considering how big that adventure was in of itself."

"You're just gonna drop all these enigmatic hints and make us sit with them?" Brock asked.

Ash frowned, and then sighed. "Fine, I'll give you guys the shorter rendition of it."

He could sense May's interest peak a bit next to him, it was almost tangible, the change in the Aura was very obvious. " _I had no idea that they'd think the part I forgot them in would be the most interesting one…"_ he thought.

"It all started after I had left a lesson with Lugia, sometime two winters ago" Ash began the new chapter of his story. "I was flying back on Pidgeot, over the Orange Islands. Riolu was right by me, on the back of Pidgeot. It was sunset, a really cold night."

He closed his eyes, and envisioned that night, near on the magnitude as they day he lost May, yet less impactful, for obvious reasons. The air was still, but at Pidgeot's speed, it whipped his face like tiny blades. He had his cloak pulled around him, and around Riolu to keep them both warm. The ocean below them rippled lightly in the dimness.

"We were on our way back to Mt. Quena, which, going from the Shamouti Islands, means flying over Kanto and Johto" Ash said. "And somewhere else, too. Later into our flight, some winds began. Not gales, at first, but strong enough to push Pidgeot further south as we flew, and we passed over a few islands in another chain, called the Sevii Islands."

"That's another cluster, to the west of the Orange Islands, directly south of Kanto" Brock commented. "On a flight from the Orange Islands to Johto, a wind like that would easily move you over them."

Ash nodded. "Eventually, a storm began to brew, and I had Pidgeot set down on the nearest island to rest until it died down. She's a strong flyer, but I didn't want to take any chance of her getting hurt. Pidgeot settled down on a small island, only about a quarter mile across. There was some form of ruins there, which we figured we'd use for shelter." He paused. "But before we even got inside the ruins, I could tell something was off."

In the buffeting of the storm, he hadn't seen it from above, but as they descended, landing on the beach, everything… Stopped.

"When we landed, it was almost as if everything else had frozen" Ash said. "The water was unmoving, the roar of the wind went away completely, and everything just looked gray. I learned a lot later that time had stopped there."

Brock's eyebrows raised so high they almost cracked the ceiling. "Hold on, _time_ had stopped?" He struck a thinking pose. "Knowing you, your luck, and what we've heard so far, let me guess what happened. Rogue Dialga, right?"

"Actually, that's really close" Ash said. "But, anyways, we looked inside the ruins, and we found where the frozen time had begun. There was a crack of light in the center of the ruins, with Unown writing on the walls. It got harder to move towards it, but we kept going." He finally opened his eyes again. "That crack was the source of the distortion, so, we had to try and close it."

He and Riolu had stood in the center of the room, hands glowing with Aura surging through them. They had channeled it beyond the physical level, which greatly weakened them, but they managed to take ahold of the rift and invert it.

"And that's when things really went wrong. We managed to shut the rift, but when it was closing, it began re-absorbing the distorted time, and that of course, came with a very strong suction force." He could recall just how much he had trembled, trying to stand against the pull, but failing. "We couldn't get away. As a last ditch effort, I recalled the two of them and threw all my Pokeballs as far away as I could, before I was pulled in."

May's face grew more worried. "And what happened to you when you were pulled in?" she asked.

"The rift closed fast enough that none of the others got sucked in" Ash said. "But… I wasn't alone in there…"

A flash of lightning, a searing pain striking him in the chest, cold, high laughter, the rush of wind, and, darkness.

"I was attacked" Ash stated bluntly. "Someone had been trying to destroy time throughout all reality, and they weren't happy that I stopped them from spreading it further."

"But that doesn't make sense" Brock said. "I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but shouldn't it be impossible to even be in control enough to make a move in a transportation like that?"

"Not for this guy" Ash said. "I didn't even know he existed until much later, or what he had done, but after the attack, I blacked out."

And oh, boy, did he remember the coming too so much more. "And when I woke up, I was in another world, and I was in another body."

"Another body?" May asked.

"To this day, I don't know how it was possible" Ash said. "But, when I awoke, on a beach, I was almost identical to Riolu. Somehow, I had been transformed into a Pokemon, going through whatever time warp I went through. And beyond that, I couldn't even remember my own name."

May suddenly felt a swoop of fear, for two reasons. She was starting to believe Ash was right, that listening to these stories and the stress she was feeling listening to just how in danger he had been, it wasn't healthy. And beyond that, she now realized just how lucky she was to have not had any of those side effects hit her when she went through that time warp of her own, back in their Kanto journey.

"I was found by another Pokemon" Ash said. "A Squirtle, who went by Buster."

"I had been transported to a world, purely inhabited by Pokemon. They had communities, large sprawling towns, they had advanced quite far. And while I looked the part, I knew I didn't quite fit in."

"Fast forward a couple months, Buster became the only person that kept me going" Ash continued. "I still felt completely clueless, although I had settled in. Me and him, we were kind of a team, there's something in that world called a Mystery Dungeon, an ever shifting maze that Pokemon can easily get lost forever in. There's a group of select Pokemon whose job it is to help others trapped within them, and explore, expand the knowledge."

"We came across even Legendary Pokemon, on occasion" Ash said, the least surprising part of his story so far. Even in another body and another world, he would always attract those mighty figures. "We met a Uxie on the top of a mountain, who guarded a relic known as a Time Gear. They protected the flow of time in any given area. There were dozens scattered around the world, but they were exceedingly rare, and if they were removed, time in that area would eventually crawl to a halt."

"And you were caught up in something that involved time crawling to a halt in that world" May took a wild guess.

"Yeah" Ash said. "There was a thief going around, and stealing the Time Gears. An unusually powerful Grovyle. He had stolen almost all the Time Gears before we cornered him, and managed to defeat him, and reclaim them." Ash sighed. "And what we did, was a complete screw-up."

"Time was beginning to collapse even before the Grovyle removed the gears. He was trying to save the world. He came from a bleak future, in a similar way to me, except he didn't transform or lose his memories. The future he came from was frozen because time had collapsed, and the one ally we thought we could trust before that, betrayed us and dragged us off to that wasteland."

May made a sound, a cough. She took a deep breath, not wanting a little stress to make Ash stop. However, him being captured and dragged to an alternate future of an alternate world, it was cause for concern for anyone.

"We escaped, barely" Ash said. He looked at his friend. "You thought we were caught up in a crisis with a rogue Dialga? Pretty much."

Brock frowned. "I can tell that you're leaving out a detail or two" he said.

"The Dialga had lost all sense of sentience when time collapsed, and reverted to a more instinctual, _primal_ state" Ash said, shivering as he remembered those cruel, orange, blade-like structures, nearly cutting his Riolu-head off. "He only cared about remaining as he was, and tried to stop us from getting back and fixing time."

"With some help from a Celebi, we made it back to the present of that world, and got to work. We regathered the Time Gears, and took them to the domain of the present Dialga, where if we placed five of the Time Gears in a special altar connected directly to Dialga, he could gain the balance and power to stop the collapse, and revert it. We encountered some opposition, but made it. Barely."

"We made it to the top of Dialga's domain, Temporal Tower. Time had begun to collapse already, and Dialga had began to lose his sentience, his reason. He couldn't see that we were trying to help him, and he attacked us."

"What?!" Brock exclaimed, shocking the two of them. It wasn't May, this time. "The Legendary Pokemon Dialga, against a Riolu, a Squirtle, and a Grovyle?"

"Just me and Buster, actually" Ash said. "That agent of Dialga's turned up once more, and in order to give him the boot back to his world, Grovyle had to drag him there himself."

"But, how did you even survive?" Brock asked. "You didn't remember a thing about Pokemon training, or your Aura training. Several fully evolved Pokemon couldn't scratch a Dialga in this world, we tried, remember?"

"Well, we weren't in this world" Ash said. "This lines between the powers of different Pokemon are more blurred in that world. It nearly took both our lives, but we managed to subdue Dialga just long enough that we could get to the altar, and place the Time Gears. Just barely."

The room fell silent as Ash took a breather. "We saved the world, and returned to the village that we lived at. And, it was at that point that I began to remember… Something about the fight with Dialga, whether one of his Roar of Time attacks rattled my head just right, began to knock some of my memories back in."

"What did you remember, Ash?" May asked quietly.

Ash gave May a slightly guilty look. "I couldn't remember anything solid at first, but I began to have nightmares each night, that I could never remember when I woke up."

May didn't need Ash to spell out that the nightmares had probably been him subconsciously remembering her fall. She squeezed his hand tightly, and nodded, prompting him to continue with his story.

"We worked normally for about a month or so, until we got caught up in the destruction of space" Ash muttered. "Now we had an angry Palkia out for our blood."

"Hold on, why did Palkia automatically think that you two were responsible for whatever was happening?" Brock asked.

"Palkia didn't know the specifics, but he knew that I didn't come from that world" Ash said. "Of course, my presence didn't mean anything severe, but the opposite was being whispered into his ear."

"Palkia was even more ferocious than Dialga, and had the smarts to back us into a corner, and attack us. We were stronger than before, but even then, we were just barely able to defeat Palkia."

"What I still don't get…" Brock said, thinking hard, "is how, even in another world, two Pokemon like Riolu and Squirtle are able to topple now only Legendary Pokemon, but ones so high on the food chain as the Time/Space legends. Those two are probably the most powerful known Legendary Pokemon short of Arceus himself…" he trailed off. "You needed to fight and defeat Arceus at some point too, didn't you?"

For the first time in ages, Ash let out a true laugh. The sudden pulse his body underwent shocked him into shutting up, but the sound left his body. May suddenly felt extremely happy. Ash had been dark, down and distant, ever since he woke up. But, even if just for a moment, that was the laugh of the old Ash.

"Nothing quick that drastic" Ash shook his head. "I'm not sure that world even had an Arceus, and if they did, we didn't witness him." " _I'm grateful for that"_ he thought darkly. His rage with the deity had not abated overnight.

"We eventually found out exactly who was behind the distortions" Ash said. "Who was behind everything. The crack I had found in the Tanoby Ruins, the attack I took being whisked away, crumbling the structure of time and now space."

"There's no single being that could have orchestrated all of that" Brock stated. "Like I said, the only ones above Dialga and Palkia is Arceus."

"There's always exceptions" Ash said darkly. "And this one took the form of… Darkrai."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees when Ash said that. They knew Darkrai, they had all seen a Darkrai between Tobias and in Sinnoh. But the way Ash said that name, it was different somehow. He spoke of the Darkrai as if it were a separate entity.

"This Darkrai was exceptionally powerful, and exceptionally evil. He wanted a world of collapsed time and space, a dead world in darkness that could easily be ruled by him. He tried to expand his reach from that future into our world, but I stopped him then, and furthermore, took his dark future away as well. He wanted vengeance."

May held onto Ash, not at all liking the sound of that. "Did he, come after you?" May asked.

"After we defeated Palkia, he locked it in a permanent nightmare for failing to destroy us" Ash said shakily. "He would have made a move on us, if Cresselia hadn't shown up and forced him to flee. Cresselia was able to unlock Palkia, and make him see reason, before turning to us."

"She wanted our help to stop Darkrai" Ash said gravely. "We travelled to a volcano on a far off island, where Darkrai lied in wait for us. Upon our arrival, Darkrai stated that he would remove us from the equation permanently, so that his victory would be clear. And then he attacked, armed with a several other allies beside him."

"We managed to defeat the others, but Darkrai was far too strong. He wasn't any ordinary Pokemon, having already surpassed Dialga and Palkia. He took down Cresselia very soon after we focused on him, and sent Buster almost flying into the lava. I tried to fight, but I was all alone. I had none of my Aura training besides a Bone Rush and Force Palm I had picked up naturally, and Darkrai was moving for the kill."

The pressure on Ash's arm almost cut off circulation, but he kept going. "Darkrai had me down, and began to taunt me. He said that he had glimpsed into my old world, seen my old life, and began to tell me about how I had all my friends just stuck there, helpless themselves, and their last hope, grovelling at his feet. How his darkness would spread through that world, then this one and every world beyond that. He had me defeated."

"And, a miracle happened."

"Palkia showed up, an aura of power around it. Darkrai barely acknowledged his presence, already believing him to be far weaker. But, Palkia had another plan. One that he had been creating in the several days since he was freed from his nightmare."

He remembered watching, having no idea why Palkia had arrived or why it was trying to help beat Darkrai. And then, it happened.

"Palkia used his special move, Spacial Rend" Ash said. "But not at Darkrai. At the sky above us. The attack stopped, as if clashing with another force, before reality was torn apart, and the mirror image of the Spacial Rend was seen through the crack. A hole between worlds was opened, and the cavalry arrived."

"All of my old partners dropped in, Pidgeot, Riolu, everyone, even Mewtwo, Mew, and Latias were all there too. According to them all later, what happened was, Palkia found which world I came from, and contacted his counterpart there, the Palkia that lives in Sinnoh" Ash said. "Palkia warned the other one about the crisis, and how it affects all the worlds, and so, they worked together to open a rift. Palkia was originally coming himself, but Mewtwo somehow caught wind and decided to come in his place. I didn't recognize them at first, and none of them recognized me. Except Riolu. He saw me, and somehow, immediately knew. And that's when he got mad."

It was a fierce battle. Darkrai was exceptionally powerful, but he was dealing with three Legendary Pokemon from Ash's world, where Legendary Pokemon don't have that fancy title for no reason. Mewtwo's speed and power rivaled Darkrai's, while Mew was faster, and had some special moves. Latias flew around, helping him, Buster, and Cresselia back to their feet with Heal Pulse. And the others launched all out attacks on Darkrai. It wasn't long before the evil Pokemon was on his knees.

"Once they defeated Darkrai, Palkia banished him through a dimensional portal, and destroyed the portal with him inside" Ash explained. "Darkrai would either be trapped between realities for eternity, or suffer the same fate as me, amnesia, in an unfamiliar world. Either way, he was gone for good."

May felt shivers up her spine. "Ash… That entire deal sounded incredibly dangerous" she said.

"Because it was" Ash said bluntly. "May, over the past few years, I've done nearly nothing that wasn't dangerous besides sleeping. It came with the territory of the job I had. My least dangerous jobs involved keeping people like Team Rocket away from Legendary Pokemon, the more dangerous ones come around if I don't catch them and they succeed."

"And this was your most dangerous yet?" May asked. "The other world, the Darkrai?"

Ash nodded. "It was a time where I was much weaker, and Darkrai is one of the most powerful Pokemon I've ever met, short of the Creation Trio of this world. It was also the final battle I had in that world."

"It took some convincing, but eventually Riolu got the others to understand that it was me" Ash said. "I was completely lost at first, but then Mew and Mewtwo came towards me. Mew felt me out, and saw that my Aura was exactly the same, and then, Mewtwo reached into my mind and unlocked my memories. Oh, the headache that gave me. It's hard, losing your entire life, getting six months of brand new memories, and then gaining your entire life back again."

Ash rubbed his head as he had a phantom pain. "So, there I was, a Pokemon in a world run by Pokemon, but with the memories of my human life tacked on" he sighed. The experience had been indescribable, he couldn't possibly convey it fully. "Once I had recovered enough from my shock, I explained everything to my partner there, because even though I wasn't a real Pokemon, we'd still been really good friends. And, I couldn't stay there. I was the Chosen One, and while I had fought to protect that world, my real duties were back in this one. We said goodbye, I told him to tell all the others, and then Mewtwo and the others carried me back through the portal, at which point, both Palkia sealed it."

"And did you turn back into yourself when you went through?" May asked.

"Not exactly" Ash said. "Even once I was back, I was still a Riolu. But our Palkia managed to fix it, with a request from Mewtwo. When I first transformed, it was with a spatial disturbance while I first went through, so it literally changed my presence in reality. Palkia managed to change my body back, being able to control and manipulate space." He shrugged. "And that's basically it for that part of it. I went back, and got back on my training. I was rusty as it was, and soon, I was going out on missions again."

Brock rubbed the side of his head. "Ash, I know we've seen some really crazy stuff in the past, but this is confusing even to me. Another world run by Pokemon completely?"

"Yeah" Ash nodded. "It's a really unique place, but impossible to get to normally. There shouldn't be any way or any reason to ever go there again…"

"Hmm" Brock hummed thoughtfully.

"There's not much left to tell, now" Ash said. "After I was done catching up on my training, I caught up on what had happened in our world. Strangely enough, the one time I managed to leave was the only six months I can remember nothing massive happening. The only problem that had taken place was some Team Magma wannabes trying to raise Groudon again, which was easily stopped by Mewtwo, singlehandedly."

"There were a few major events, which seemed like cakewalks after my encounters in that other world. We had to protect the Legendary Pokemon of Johto, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune in order to prevent Team Rocket from using them to get at Ho-Oh. They managed to grab Raikou, and we barely managed to protect Entei. Suicune, luckily, was smart enough to remain elusive, and we were able to go liberate Raikou from them rather easily."

"A few more missions over the next few months of the same magnitude" Ash said, getting ready to close up his story. "Some more training, all of the normal stuff. And then, recently, something else happened, something that drew me here, to the tournament."

Immediately, Brock and May realized that they had been forgetting something. Ash was here competing, while being the Chosen One. They had no idea what prompted him to come, if he had his duties, then something must have been up.

"What happened this time, Ash?" May asked.

"Well…" Ash said. "What happened, was that-"

Ash clutched his head suddenly, eye clenched shut as he leaned forward. May became very fearful, very fast, about what was happening. "Ash, ASH?!" she cried. "What's going on?!" She didn't expect Ash to respond by waving her off, giving her the "one moment" sign.

Ash took some deep breaths after a minute, and slowly sat back up, his body wracked with pain, but doing his best to shrug it off. "You know, maybe find another way to interrupt me when doing that is just going to tear me a new one" he shouted at no one.

May and Brock both looked at him with confused expressions. "Um, Ash?" Brock asked. "Who are you-"

"He knows" Ash said. "And he can hear me too." He closed his eyes and turned his head, seemingly searching for something. "Come on, it's not like you had to spy on us. Maybe try something other than the brain blast next time, Mewtwo!"

May looked around. "Mewtwo? Where?" she asked.

"Somewhere close enough that he can watch us" Ash said. "Just come on, Mewtwo, so I can smack you upside the head" he growled as the glowing bone materialized in his hand.

" _Now, is that really the smartest course of action to take?"_ Mewtwo's voice rang in the ears of the three, as a flash of light materialized and he appeared in the center of the room.

Ash thrust forward with the Bone Rush, aiming straight at Mewtwo. The Legendary react as quickly as he could, turning aside so that the bone missed, barely. The glowing staff went straight between the tube on the back of his neck. Blade extending from his hand, Mewtwo struck at the bone, slicing it in half and causing it to dissipate. "Again, is that really the smartest course of action?" Mewtwo asked.

May and Brock pulled back, trying to avoid the exchange between the two. For partners, they sure seemed to try and maim each other a lot.

Ash glared at Mewtwo, releasing the bone, allowing the rest of it to vanish into the air. "Honestly, you knew full well how much that blast would hurt right now!" he chewed Mewtwo out.

"Blast?" May squeaked.

"Mewtwo has a habit" Ash muttered. "If he wants to get your attention about something, he may hit you in the head with a sort of Psychic wave. Not damaging, but enough to severely scramble your brain. I swear, it's like a dozen air horns going off inside my head at once…"

"Maybe if you didn't act like such a fool, I wouldn't have had to" Mewtwo shot back. "You know what the consequences for divulging this mission could mean. So, Chosen One, if you would kindly _shut up-_ "

Another bone materialized in Ash's hands, but rather than attack with it, Ash planted it on the ground, and pushed himself to his feet. Surprising everyone, he stepped towards Mewtwo, glaring at him on an equal level.

"Mewtwo, if there are any people in this world that I trust completely, it's these two" Ash said, filling May with an immense happiness. "Just because you have your hatred for all humans-"

"I thought we went over this" Mewtwo sighed with an exasperated tone. "I don't hate _all_ humans-"

Ash gave a false cough that sounded oddly like "dinner." Whatever it meant, it certainly clammed Mewtwo up, the glare he wore thawing from as cold as Kyurem's ice to only about Jynx's Blizzard level. "Fine…" Mewtwo growled. "If you wish to endanger the mission, so be it. However, with my life being on the line here as well, be forewarned, should your faith be misguided, I will destroy you as I go down."

Ash nodded curtly. "Mewtwo, you know I would have taken responsibility either way" he said to the Genetic Pokemon.

May looked quite perturbed by Mewtwo's threat. "Ash, if letting us know is dangerous, then-"

Ash shook his head. "Mewtwo's only worried that you guys would join Team Rocket in what they were after" Ash said. "And like I said, even if no one else, I could trust you two with my life. It'll explain why I'm here, too, why I was even in this place to find you."

"At this particular tournament?" Brock asked. "Is Team Rocket after the Master Balls that make up part of the prize?"

"You're on the right track" Ash said. "Not after the Master Balls, but instead, they're after the prize Pokemon for the trainer that wins it."

Brock and May were immediately confused. "They'd go to all this trouble, over a Zoroark?" May asked.

Ash shook his head. "May, the prize isn't a Zoroark" he said, giving her a serious look. "It only looks like one."

"Only looks…" May trailed off, her eyes widening quite quickly. "Wait, no!"

Ash nodded. "Whoever was in charge of catching a special Pokemon for the tournament got more than just a powerful Pokemon of an uncommon species. They managed to somehow take Mew."

"Wait wait wait wait" Brock said, waving his arms in a timeout. "How could some basic Pokemon catching employees capture Mew of all Pokemon?"

"They heard rumors of powerful Pokemon in Rota" Ash said. "Mew took the form of Zoroark to try and force them out, but he slipped and used a move or two that Zoroark can't learn. They thought it was extra special, and baited it into an attack where they caught it with a strange device that sealed his powers like a Pokeball. Mew's stayed transformed ever since to keep anyone from learning his true identity, but somehow, Team Rocket figured that he had been captured."

"Mew's never been the subtle one" Mewtwo said. "There have been sightings of Mew throughout Rota for years, Team Rocket was bound to have eyes on the place. And they took an opportunity to catch Mew while it was disabled."

"Yeah" Ash said. "I came here to compete, because as the Chosen One, I needed to get around, and protect the world, sometimes going into public. And if somehow, I was caught stealing Mew back, even if I managed to get away, I would be a fugitive. And saving the world is a lot harder when you're being hunted by the people you're trying to save."

And thus, May and Brock now had the final piece of the puzzle. They knew everything. Why Ash left, why he stayed gone for so long, and how he came back to them. Anyone else who had heard the story would have probably attempted to give him a prescription, but they knew that the tale wasn't so far-fetched as it seemed. They believed him just as much as he had believed in them to keep the secret.

Story time had gone on for half an hour. The sun was barely rising over the horizon when they came down, and now, golden light of the early morning shone through the windows, glazing the room in a honey colored glow.

Ash closed his eyes briefly. Reliving all three years in one session had been tiring, but, strangely, also liberating. He had had no idea that going through it one last time would make him feel any better in the end, and while it wasn't a drastic change, everything felt lighter.

He was back, May was back, everything was back to the way it was, but he still had those three years of trauma with him. He wasn't sure they would ever go away, but he was hoping that those doubts were only with him for the moment, where everything still felt trancelike.

He barely caught himself before he slipped back in unconsciousness. Closing his eyes for just a moment after that ordeal was nearly enough to send him back to his dreamscape. He gave himself a quick burst of Aura in his wrist. To stimulate his body, he could make a very small piece of Aura flare inside, it was a trick he used on occasion. The sharp sensation was enough to keep him from passing back out and open his eyes easily.

"And… That's mostly it" Ash said.

"Mostly?" May asked.

Ash waved her off. "A few of the more graphic details that I left out of the story" he said. "Trust me, there's some things that you don't want to know about."

Ash knew he would regret that phrasing as soon as it left his mouth, because there was a certain entity in the room that took full advantage. "Oh, you mean like Archer?"

Ash went straight from relief, to anger. Glaring at Mewtwo with a gaze that would have shaken Giratina to his core, he shook his head. "Mewtwo, don't" he said, trying to stay calm.

May and Brock watched the two. They had no idea what was going on, but it was apparent that Mewtwo had mentioned something that was a touchy topic for Ash.

"Why shouldn't I, Chosen One?" Mewtwo asked. "Weren't you the one that wanted to divulge _everything?_ "

"As I said, except for the more graphic details" Ash growled. His hands tensed, which Mewtwo easily read as him getting ready to call a Bone Rush at a moment's notice.

"Well fine" Mewtwo huffed. As Ash relaxed, he continued. "We can leave out the details of your murder."

And Ash just about committed another on the spot. Faster than even Mewtwo could see, Ash materialized his bone and swung broad, striking Mewtwo in the side of the head and sending him sprawling into the glass door that led to the backyard, a dark purple bruise already beginning to form at the point of impact.

"You know you had that one coming, so don't complain" Ash said sharply, before Mewtwo had even started moving again. Legendary or not, surprise blows to the head can always knock someone for a loop.

" _Those two act less like partners and more like angry rivals"_ May thought.

" _Ouch, I don't want to get on_ his _bad side ever again, if that's what he can do to Mewtwo"_ Brock thought.

Ash dropped his bone, suddenly feeling a little lightheaded. "Oh man" he groaned. He looked towards May. "Hey, May, when you found me, did you see any gloves?" he asked.

May nodded, remembering the strange dark gloves he had been wearing. "Yeah, I'll go get them for you" she said, hopping up and running into the other room.

She looked around in the entry hall for a moment, trying to find the gloves Ash had had. " _They looked sorta familiar"_ she thought. " _They must be important, if Ash asked for them."_

Shifting some items aside, she found the gloves, set down on a table. Grabbing them, she realized how heavy they were at the hand, probably from the large white gem set in the middle. She turned to walk back out of the room, before she had a delayed reaction. " _Wait, what did Mewtwo mean by "murder?"_

She went back into the living room quickly, just in case Ash needed the gloves for something urgent. Ash smiled gratefully when handed them to him, and their hands brushed. They had been holding each other almost all morning, but the direct contact between their hands, it felt different, electrifying almost.

He slipped one on for a moment, onto his left hand. When it became fit on, the large white gem that rested on top began to lightly glow blue, the same color as Ash's Aura.

It snapped for May, she recognized them now. A very similar pair had been worn by Ash at Cameron Palace, during their Rota adventure. He had been dressed as Sir Aaron at the time, so these must be real versions of whatever Sir Aaron's gloves did, and must have something to do with regulating Aura.

Ash's light head began to feel a little heavier, thankfully, after a moment of the gloves allowing him to rebalance his Aura. Sliding it off, he didn't fear that Mewtwo would truly retaliate except passively. After all, he was pretty sure he was molding a bit from the dousing treatment he had received a couple nights prior.

"So, I told you guys my story" Ash said. "What do we do now?"

Brock smiled. "Still just a little impatient?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. "No, but I've been taught to not waste even a moment" he said. "Time is always running out, even when it appears plentiful."

May blinked. "Ash, that sounded, kind of _deep_ " she chuckled. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Ash blushed lightly, chuckling along with her. The sound of his laugh brought an even bigger smile to her face.

" _If that thing Mewtwo mentioned is still too much for me to ignore later…"_ May thought, watching Ash chuckle at her comment, and noticing his blush, " _I'll ask him if he's willing to tell me. Obviously, it's a sore spot for him, and I don't want to force him into anything."_

Across the room, Mewtwo let out a groan and floated back into the air. Reaching up, he rubbed the spot where he was clubbed gingerly. "You are quite reckless, Chosen One" Mewtwo said ominously. "Another individual might believe you were trying to crack my skull."

"Some people are just weird like that" Ash shrugged, earning a begrudging look of respect from Mewtwo for his response.

"Well played" Mewtwo conceded. "However, don't think that this is going to go unsettled."

"I would be worried if they were" Ash shot back, causing Mewtwo to flash a small grin.

" _I just can't work out the dynamic between those two"_ May said. " _One minute they're engaged in mortal combat, the next their exchanging pleasant banter."_

Ash looked away from Mewtwo, back to May. "So, May?" he asked. "Now that I'm done, could I ask why you were here? Not that I'm complaining, but…"

May blushed a bit as he said that. " _What's wrong with you, Maple?"_ she asked herself. " _You're blushing over all the most basic things today!"_

"Well Ash, I'm actually here, for you" May said.

The confusion on Ash's face was swift and very noticeable. "But, if none of you knew I was still alive, then how-"

"May's been taking up your dream, in sort of a way to honor you" Brock explained. "She's been doing a great job of taking care of your Pokemon for you, and has been trying to earn the Pokemon Master title so that your Pokemon could experience it, and as a sort of debt paying for you sacrificing yourself."

Ash's eyes went from confused to wide. "May?" he asked. "You, you didn't have to, even if I was, actually…"

"I know I didn't have to Ash" May said sweetly. "But I did it anyways."

"But, what about your dreams of being a Top Coordinator?" Ash asked. "Wouldn't the training have made it more difficult to compete?"

May nodded. "Yeah, well, I've been out of the Coordinating circuit for a long time now" May said, surprising Ash further. Preemptively stopping his next comment, she continued. "Ash, I knew that you wouldn't want me to put my dreams on hold, but I couldn't even begin to fathom chasing my dreams when I knew that you'd never get to accomplish yours because of me."

Ash appeared completely dumbfounded. He literally lacked any form of current response, nothing he could say came to mind. "I…" was as far was he was able to get.

He couldn't believe, all that she had done in his name, it was staggering. She put her own dreams on hold, for three years, and prefered to do that in honor of him than continue on her own path. He didn't want her to feel obligated to do something on that magnitude, but actually wanting to do it no matter what…

"May…" Ash said. He swallowed hard. "You have no idea how much that means to me…"

May smiled. "I'm glad that you feel that way" she said back.

Ash cleared his throat. "You, Brock said you took up caring for my old team" he said. "Who do you have with you right now?"

"Well, I still have Blaziken, Wartortle, and Glaceon on me" she said. "But Glaceon doesn't have her ball right now, so she doesn't count towards the six. I have Oshawott on me, as well as Heracross, Staraptor, and Gabite."

"Gabite?" Ash asked. "Gible evolved?"

May nodded. "About a year back, in a Gym Battle I was doing against Erika" she said. "And, it kind of showed me, just how special a Pokemon evolving in the middle of a battle like that can be."

"Huh?" Ash asked. "But didn't Blaziken evolve when we fought Team Rocket, not to mention all the others."

"I don't know what it is, but it's a completely different experience in official battles" May said.

Ash nodded, agreeing with the statement. "So, you have your Blaziken and Wartortle, as well as Oshawott, Heracross, Staraptor, and Gabite? And Glaceon is with you, outside of her ball too?"

May nodded. "Oh, and one other one outside of their ball, too" she said. She deliberately avoided mentioning him until last, just to be able to surprise Ash.

And her timing was perfect. At that moment, sounds of a small group of Pokemon could be heard upstairs.

" _Ri, Ri Rio Lurio."_

" _Gla Glaceon Gla Glace."_

" _Lia, Kirlia Lia."_

" _Chaaaa, Pika Pi Chu."_

Ash's face changed drastically in the last second of the Pokespeech that came down the stairs. He went from interested and thankful towards May, to what could almost be described as a kid on Christmas. Straining his muscles, he turned around and looked upstairs.

A mere moment later, a group of four Pokemon came into view. Riolu was walking with a slight tenderness, as was Kirlia, both still quite sore from their battle with Articuno the previous night. Glaceon had managed to recover more from her attempt to take down Zapdos. And bringing up the rear…

A little battered and bruised, as well as cut up a little bit, Pikachu walked into view. Pikachu chuckled at something Kirlia said, and as he approached the railing, the laughter abruptly stopped. Pikachu's eyes widened as he looked down into the living room, and his mouth broke open into a massive smile. "PIKA PI!" Pikachu squealed, darting down the stairs at a speed that would put a Deoxys in Speed Forme to shame. Before anyone could see him coming, he wheeled around the base of the stairs, jumped up over the couch, and landed on the back, and tackled Ash in the side of his head, landing on his shoulder. "Chaaaaaaaaa!"

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, nuzzling Pikachu back as he pressed upon his shoulder.

After a moment, he picked Pikachu up in his arms, and held him into the air. "I haven't seen you, in forever!" he said joyfully. "You've grown so much!"

Everyone else couldn't help but smile at the display, the reunion of Ash and Pikachu. It was truly heartwarming, seeing the two of them greet each other after so long. Even by the bonds that are formed between humans, or humans and Pokemon, the two had one of the closest ones known.

Riolu and Kirlia's eyes were wide. Riolu glanced at Kirlia, and chuckled lightly, shrugging.

- **Pokemon Language Translator-**

"Well that explains a lot" Riolu said. "...Not everything, but a lot."

"That little Pikachu that came to help us was _his_ Pikachu" Kirlia realized.

Riolu nodded. "Yeah, he told us a few times about his old missions, before he devoted himself completely, and he mentioned a Pikachu several times, if I recall." He shook his head. "No wonder that guy was so determined to help, he must be used to the kind of thing."

Glaceon looked at the two of them. "So you two are some of Ash's new partners, and you barely know anything about Pikachu?" she asked.

Riolu rubbed the back of his head. "To be fair, he hardly liked to talk about his old life at all. He let slip a few of his old partners from time to time, like Pikachu, or a Charizard, but it was just a slip up."

Glaceon frowned. "Well, I guess, if he wanted to start fresh… That's understandable."

- **Translation End-**

Ash let go of Pikachu, allowing the mouse to drop onto his lap, before running back on the back of the couch and stopping right beside his head. He refrained from jumping onto his shoulders again, because now he was seeing clearly enough the bandages there, and he didn't want to cause Ash any pain, which it must have taken to lift him like that.

Brock sat forward, smiling. He of everyone in the room besides Ash could understand just how important the two of them were to each other. He had known Ash longer than most of his other friends, after all.

"You know, I could be wrong, but I think Pikachu missed you" he chuckled sarcastically. "What do you think May?"

"Oh, not at all" May laughed, joining in on the fun. "It didn't seem like they missed each other all that much."

Pikachu looked up, eyes displaying mock-offense. "Kachu?!" he protested.

Ash smiled, reaching up and scratching Pikachu beneath the chin, earning a quick "Chaaaaaa!" from the little mouse. Looking up, he now realized he had another question. "So besides everyone here, who else knows that I'm back?" he asked.

"Besides me, Brock, and Pikachu," May began, "Dawn, Gary, and Max also know about you. I think that's it."

"Oh, and Lucy too" Brock added.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Lucy?" he asked. "Who's Lucy?"

"You don't remember Lucy?" Brock asked.

May leaned over. "She was the Pike Queen, remember? In the Battle Frontier?"

"Oh, ok, I remember her now" Ash said. "Why would she know about me, though?"

"Maybe because she's sleeping upstairs?" Brock asked. "Me and her are together" he clarified. "She saw you come in last night when May and Latias brought you in."

"Oh, sorry Brock, I didn't know" Ash said.

Brock shrugged. "It's ok, you couldn't have known" he said.

Ash looked back at May. "You know, I am a little curious, how did you even figure out I was still around?"

May's eyes widened. "Oh, right, one second" she said with a hint of excitement, before jumping up and running back upstairs.

Ash looked after her confusedly. "What is she-"

"Got it!" her voice rang back, and as soon as she had ran up the staircase, she came flying back down, holding something in each hand.

Ash raised his eyebrow. "What is it, May?" he asked.

Breathing a little harder from her hurry, she sat down next to Ash, and motioned for him to stick his hand out. Complying, Ash opened his hand, as she placed hers over it, and let something drop into it.

Before he even saw it, Ash's eyes widened. Just by how it felt, he knew exactly what it was. Shakily, as May withdrew her hand, he looked down at his own, and what he saw, he couldn't believe it.

"T-t-the Terracotta Ribbon?" Ash asked. "How, where did you find it?!"

"On a road that has the first of the houses in the thousand range" May said. Ash's eyes widened a little more, and she continued. "I had a match that day someplace where I didn't want to risk losing my own half" she said, opening her other hand, and revealing the second piece. "So I left it at home. But later, when we were there, Max pointed this out on the ground, and I thought that I had just grabbed it out of habit and dropped it on our walk there. So, I pocketed it."

"And when we got back, I found that my half was still in the drawer where I stored it" May continued. "And even more, Pikachu recognized your scent on it. That's when I realized…"

"I was still around…" Ash finished for her, earning a nod from the brunnette.

The two, without exchanging another word, both lifted up their individual pieces, and pressed them to each other, forming the complete ribbon. Ash could almost see the flash of light from Sceptile's Leaf Blade, and hear his cry as he swung it. He could still see the moment, where they split the medal between them, and held each half up high in the air proudly.

"After all this time…" May said, getting Ash's attention. "Each half is with the other again."

Ash nodded, his emotions bubbling just beneath the surface, but for the first time in three, long years, they didn't threaten to break him when they spilled over. Leaning forward, he pulled May into a tender embrace, holding her tightly in his arms. Returning the hug, May held him with just as much strength as he did her.

Ash pulled back slightly, enough to see May's face. Her shimmering sapphire eyes seemed to sparkle in the early morning sun. At that moment, or at any moment past, he couldn't imagine anything more beautiful.

Leaning back in, May and Ash began to close their eyes, and turn their heads, before, just like the ribbons before them, their lips were pressed to each other. The world around them could have been obliterated, and they wouldn't have noticed.

It seemed like an eternity, but they slowly pulled apart, still looking into each other's eyes. Everything was perfect in their world, but they got a call back to the real one very quickly.

"Wow, you two move fast" Brock commented, shocking the two out of their stupor. Immediately, they both began glowing so red that it wouldn't have been entirely implausible to say that fire was coursing through their veins. "I knew it wouldn't take long, but this was a fair bit sooner than I expected."

"Wha-? You knew?" May asked.

Brock grinned. "Well, you did kinda say it out loud, right next to me, as soon as you woke up that day" he pointed out.

May had completely forgotten that she had confessed, right there on the spot in the hospital. She'd hoped that she'd been quiet enough, but obviously Brock was close enough that he heard.

Beside her, Ash remained silent. " _Why do I feel so embarrassed?"_ he wondered. " _It's not like I'm ashamed I love May. Oh, is this just something that I'll have to deal with? Some irrational reaction?"_

Brock chuckled a bit more, before letting the teasing fade. He gave the two a minute to go from tomato red, down to sunburn red, before he spoke again. "So, Ash?" he asked.

Ash looked up at him, cocking his head to the side. "Yeah?"

Brock leaned forward. "So, what do you want us to do?"

Ash's confusion grew. "What?"

Brock sighed. "Come on, you really think that we'll just let you do this alone? Of course we're going to help out."

"Help out with what?" Ash asked, still missing the point.

"With saving Mew, of course" May said, jumping onto Brock's statement. "We'll help you save Mew."

Ash looked back and forth between the two. "But, guys, I don't want you to be in any danger-"

"It's not like we'll be doing spy work" May pointed out. "I'm already in the tournament, and a lot of the others are too. The more people you have competing to save Mew, the better chance it will be one of us that makes it."

Ash was about to respond again, but closed his mouth. May made a really valid argument. She may have been in it at first to honor his memory, but now, she was willing to stick with what she began to help him reach his goal. Brock sounded willing as well, and from the sound of it, they were confident the others would be willing to help as well.

Ash let out a breath. "Well, first thing's first" he said. "Is the tournament even still going on? I mean, the island just got attacked by three Legendary Pokemon and a criminal group."

"They told us on the news" Brock said. "They've delayed the tournament by a week to do repairs and tighten security, but it'll resume in seven days. Maybe six, now."

"Ok, then" Ash said. "Then, for now, there's only one thing to do."

"And what's that?"

Materializing one more bone, Ash pressed to the ground and stood up. "You guys know I'm back" he said. "Everyone else deserves to also."

"'Everyone?'" May asked. "Like, the world?"

Ash shook his head. "Not quite yet" he said. "I'm not sure what the rules about it are, but I don't want to chance being thrown out of the tournament just because I was under a false identity, even if I was perfectly qualified either way. Aaron Satoshi is going to remain my name in public, but at least, I can trust all of my friends to keep quiet, without leading them on that I'm still dead."

Ash had given it quite a bit of thought at the moment, and was certain that this was the course of action he had to take. He couldn't chance not being able to save Mew, after all.

May nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense" she said. "So, who should we call first? I'm guessing you don't want to do everyone at once?"

Ash shook his head. "That might be a little bit too much for me, right now" he said. "You said Gary, Dawn, and Max also know that I'm here?" May nodded. "Alright, then why don't we start with them? I can show myself to them consciously this time."

May smiled. "Alright, Ash" she said, standing up herself and walking over to the phone that was on the table.

As she picked it up, however, there came a loud knocking at the door. The three of them, as well as the Pokemon, all looked over towards the entry hall. "Who could that be?" Brock asked.

"I'll go see" May said, leaving the phone and walking into the hall, and pulling the door open.

"What?" May asked.

"Well, as a live and breath!" a familiar voice that could only be described as "cool" rang across the room. "I had a feeling that the local talent seemed familiar."

Ash recognized the voice, and looked towards the doorway. "It, it couldn't be…"

"Heh heh, long time no see, Ash" Scott said with a broad smile.

* * *

 **Sorry this one took so long to get out, guys. Luckily my new college schedule gives me a lot of time between my first couple classes, otherwise I might not have gotten this out for another day.**

 **I wanted to update at Christmas, New Years at the latest, but things happened. Family, new things to use, etcetera. Luckily, I was finally able to get this out.**

 **Maybe this wasn't the chapter you were looking forward to, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I decided to give you guys some backstory on Ash's adventures that weren't gone over in the script so far. And, to be honest, I've always liked the idea of making Ash the character from Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. I doubt I'm the first to do it, but I changed some details slightly to match the story. Hopefully that little adventure was pretty cool.**

 **I know a few of you at least were looking forward to Pikachu and Ash's reunion, so I'm hoping I delivered. Between him, May, and Brock, there was enough reunions for this chapter, with many more to come in the following ones.**

 **People seem to be taking it this way a lot, so I'm going to clear something up. Delia is not dead, alright? She was heavily depressed for a while, but has been improving. Look back at when Dawn, Max, and Gary were talking after they found out Ash was alive. They mentioned her, she's in better shape now, and still fine.**

 **I'm beginning to learn, don't set promises for due dates, even approximate ones, because real life interferes WAY too often to be reliable. I'll try to keep things consistent, I always do, but I can't even make you a promise on a maybe at this point.**

 **So, yeah. I'm sure you guys are wondering what Scott being here is going to entail, or why/how he's here in the first place. Answers to come. For now, speculate to your heart's content.**

 **Anyways, that's all for now. I hope it was worth the wait. I'd like to wish you all a belated Happy Holidays. Please drop a review on your way out, and until next time, cya!**


	13. Excitement

**Alright, guys, lucky chapter number 13! Are you guys ready?**

 **I'm gonna say right now, I'm pretty happy. This story just broke 200 followers! That's a milestone I never thought I'd reach. Thank you all, for making me feel so good about my story!**

 **I got a bit of flack for the last chapter, most people not enjoying the filler that much. I figured that it would have been nice to get a more in-depth backstory to the 3 years Ash spent away, it was barely skated over. Plus, I wanted to get at least a few things set up for the future. So, sorry you didn't really enjoy the last chapter, but here's to hoping this one is more to your guys' liking!**

 **Now, without further adieu (because at this point, I bet you've all had enough 'adieu'), let's get this started.**

* * *

The three figures situated in the house had their mouths agape as they stared at the doorway. Everyone seemed to freeze, from Ash to Glaceon, they all just looked at the door, and the figure who stood just outside of it.

"I'm dead" Ash groaned inwardly. Had he not just been talking about how he was going to continue under his alias of 'Aaron Satoshi' just so that he wouldn't get the boot from the tournament, so he could save Mew. And of course, who better to find him soon following, than one of the highest members of the council behind organizing the whole thing? "I'm so dead, even dead people would be amazed at how dead I am. _Dead!"_

The one thing he couldn't figure, why was Scott acting like this was such a common occurrence. As bruised and battered as he was, and for how long it had been, he recognized him immediately and gave him a quick, cool greeting. Ash was beyond confused.

"S-Scott?" Ash stuttered.

Scott flashed a grin. "The one and only, Ketchum, how's it hanging?"

May looked at Scott in surprise. "But, how did you-?"

"-Know Ketchum was here?" Scott asked. "Come on. I know all, I see all. I-"

"Am Oz, the great and terrible?" Brock finished to the amusement of several in the room, Scott included.

"Ah, I thought that line sounded a bit familiar" Scott chuckled.

Ash looked around confusedly, not getting what reference had been made himself, but smiled lightly at the enjoyment the others had gotten from it. Of course, it quickly died as the ominous air to the atmosphere retook its hold. They still had no idea…

"Why are you here, Scott?" Ash asked lowly. He didn't mean to come out with such a depressed tone, but a combination of pain, stress, and fear didn't give him many options.

Glancing into the room, towards Brock, a silent question was asked. Brock nodded, and Scott stepped inside, following May back into the living room. He came to a stop a few feet away from the couch Ash was occupying. "Well, I came to offer my thanks, of course" he said simply. "And the thanks of a few others besides."

For how confused Ash had been before, it only grew as he was fed information. "Your thanks?" he asked.

"Yeah, for saving the island and everyone here from catastrophe" Scott said with an obvious tone. When he saw Ash's shocked face, he raised his eyebrows. "What, you didn't think we'd want to thank you for that?"

"I didn't think you'd even know I was here, or that it was me that was out there" Ash said, shocked. "How did you even…"

Scott gave a grin, but it wasn't his usual 'cool' grin, it was more of a sympathetic one. "Well, you see here, that's the thing" he said. "The tournament had prerequisites for entering, you know? A certain achievement, logged in your Pokedex. Imagine my surprise when the achievements listed under a new trainer I had yet to hear of, Aaron Satoshi, not only listed you as a conquerer of the Battle Frontier, but all of your others were in direct correlation with an old trainer, real hot stuff, that I used to know. Went by the name, Ash Ketchum."

May looked at Scott incredulously. "You _knew_ he was Ash?!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

Scott raised his eyebrows above his glasses. "Well, a couple reasons for that" Scott said. "For one, I don't have contact information for any of you. May, I may have invited you here myself, but I didn't know where you were. Besides, it was but a hunch. After all, only a fraction of the trainers her can claim to have beaten Brandon."

"So what made it go from hunch to fact?" Ash questioned.

"Well, what kind of resort would this be without some form of security?" Scott pointed out. "You revealed yourself in your battle with that Articuno." Another grin, what was with those? "I must say, even better a battle than against Noland and his own. Quit intense, I wish that we could release that on tape. But, something tells me that that's not in the best interest of you or them."

Ash frowned and shook his head. "Yeah, it really wouldn't be" he muttered.

Scott nodded. "I figured as much. So, Ash, I am quite curious. What does a guy like you need with a false name and a cloaked face?"

The other three in the room visibly tensed at this question. This was it, the moment of truth. Brock and May glanced worriedly at Ash while he took a shaky breath. "Um… Well… You see…" Ash couldn't believe it. It had been so long since he had been confronted in this fashion that he was drawing a complete blank.

He half wanted to conjure a bone and whack himself over the head with it to see if that would get his mind working properly, but he knew better than to do that. After all, in his current state, he would probably just knock himself out.

"I had to be dead to help the world" Ash managed to squeeze out lamely. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how dumb they sounded, and how little he managed to actually explain.

Mentally facepalming at Scott's further confused expression, he tried again. "Well, there was a Legendary Pokemon that said I needed to help him, and I had so much to do, I had to leave in order to take care of it all." It wasn't an outright lie, and he managed to keep a lot of the more sensitive details private.

Scott's eyebrows raised above his glasses once more. "Kind of a tall tale, wouldn't you say?" he chuckled. "All the same, that doesn't sound too far out from you."

"Wait, what?" Ash asked.

"I mean, come on, you don't think I know your hand with the Legendary Pokemon?" Scott asked. "I know at least about the battle with Kyogre and Groudon."

"You did?" Brock asked, shocked as the rest of them. "But how?"

"Lance" Scott said simply.

It was no surprise, as connected as Scott was, that he knew the Champion of the joint-Kanto-Johto Elite 4. Lance, of course, had been present at the fiasco with Kyogre and Groudon back in Hoenn, being one of the frontline fighters besides the four of them. However, Ash hadn't expected for Lance to disclose something like that, even to Scott himself. Ash's brow furrowed. Lance had been there on a mission for the Pokemon G-Men, after all.

"Lance mentioned he had seen you on the battlefield there when I asked him if he knew you" Scott continued. "He had been quite impressed with the level you acted at, because after all, trying to break up a battle between two gods isn't necessarily an easy task."

Lance seemed to have left out a few details, much more believable, then.

"I see…" Ash said. He let out a sigh. He assumed that the time for pleasantries was over. "So, what's it going to be?"

"What's what gonna be?" Scott asked.

"You're running the tournament, and I'm here under a false identity" Ash said. "How bad is it?"

Scott visibly started. "Really?" he asked. "You're worried about being here under a false identity?"

Ash was shocked when Scott began visibly laughing. "Oh, come now, Ash, you didn't think being under an assumed name actually meant anything, did you?" he asked. "Come on, there's a professor from Alola here under the name of Masked Royal. At least a hundred people on the island, myself included, know who he is. It's not a biggie."

"But-" Ash began, but Scott beat him to it.

"I know, it must have felt a lot more severe, considering you're assumed to be dead and all" Scott said dismissively "But honestly, it's no big fuss. As long as you didn't fake your credentials, we'll let anyone under any name in." He flashed another grin. "And I know for a _fact_ that your credentials are solid. You beat Brandon right before my eyes, after all."

Ash's mouth moved, but sound failed to emerge. He didn't know whether to think that Arceus had forsaken him or tried to save him anymore. One moment, he sees numbered days for Mew and all the Pokemon he guarded. Now, it was as if those worries were all for naught. How could that be?

"And since we've got everything cleared up, if you wanted to, I could pull a couple strings" Scott said. "If you so desired, you could go on under your real name, from here on out. You ready to make an official debut back on the scene?"

Ash blinked, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "No more Aaron Satoshi? Just… Ash Ketchum?" It had been so long since he said those words. They almost felt foreign in his mouth now. He frowned. That wasn't a good sign.

Scott nodded. "I take it that I've piqued your interest?"

Ash could hardly comprehend it. Could it be, that after all this time sliding through the shadows, he could come back out. Not have to worry about stealth, to be known by the public.

Almost immediately, his mind rejected the idea. He wasn't one for popularity. It would have come with the territory of his dream, but it had never been real in his eyes. This was different. If he came back out, everyone would know about him. Scott already said that he was here on behalf of others besides himself too. If word got out that Aaron turned out to be the thought-to-be-dead Ash…

But on the other hand, it would be nice to live a less stressful life. Maybe Scott could get those others to keep quiet, and he could emerge as quietly as possible, not letting his past follow him, and hopefully, severing ties with the trainer that had helped save the island, Aaron Satoshi.

But before he could arrive at a conclusion, the answer he felt the most comfortable with, May suddenly spoke up. "Wait, Ash" she said.

"Huh?" Ash asked, glancing at May, confused.

Squeezing his hand with hers, May turned to Scott. "On the announcement last night, they said something about added safety precautions, right? One of them was that no one could come or go from the island until the tournament was all said and done, right?"

"Yes, that's correct" Scott said.

Receiving the information, May took a deep breath, and looked at Ash, deep in the eyes. "Ash… As much as I hate to say it… You'd probably be better going on for the rest of the tournament as Aaron."

"Why's that, May?" Ash asked. He didn't reject the idea, but he wanted to know why May thought it so strongly.

May sighed. "Ash, there's someone that's going to be watching the tournament, and to see you here, under your name and everything, but unable to reach you for almost another month, it would kill her."

"Her…" Ash said, eyes widening as he realized who May was talking about. "Mom…"

May nodded, patting him on the shoulder, careful to avoid any wounded areas. "As cruel as it sounds to sneak around more and not let her know that you're alive, I think that it would be even worse if she learned, and then realized that she couldn't come here." She sighed. "Delia, she's strong, but it would be very hard on her. I think we should wait, and then you can come home, and we'll try to break the news lightly."

Brock interjected. "Do you really think that there's any way to do this lightly?"

"Maybe slightly lighter" May admitted. "Like mixing a drop of white paint into a bucket of black paint."

"Very slightly" Scott chuckled at the analogy. "I must say, that's very sound advice, Ms. Maple. Ash, what do you say?"

Ash let out a breath he had been subconsciously holding. "I… I think that May's right. It would be really confusing for everyone if I came back as Ash Ketchum now, I think it's best I keep my alias, even just for a little while, until things are all said and done."

Scott nodded. "Well, I can certainly respect that." Stepping forward, he held his hand out. "Well, Ash, I think I speak for the entire island when I say that we're indebted to you."

Ash reached up, shaking Scott's hand. "I was just doing what I could to help things go right" he said.

"And you're a great person for doing that" Scott said, smiling. "I'll be sure to tell those other few that you're fine, and recovering."

"Oh, I'm actually a bit curious" Ash admitted. "Who else wanted to thank me?"

"Actually, I think you know at least a couple of them" Scott said. "Anabel saw enough of your faceoff with Articuno to realize your role. And your partner out there, guy named Paul, with the purple hair. There were some others that I doubt you'd recognize, but saw you and wanted to thank you too. A fellow named Charles, and his gal Sarah. Charles, or 'Chuck' as he told me to call him, said that you beat him in the prelims, and he saw you out there. He was rooting for you before the crowd swept him away. Another guy named Jake saw you battle, and wanted to make sure you were ok. After all, the entire experience was terrifying." He nodded slightly. "And the last one, boy, you sure do have a talent for attracting the eyes of the well known, eh?"

Ash cocked his head to the side, confused at what Scott meant.

"Zeta wanted to make sure of your well-being too" Scott said.

"Zeta…" Ash said slowly, not remembering where he heard the name.

"Zeta, the Champion of Vesryn" Scott said, smirking. "I must say, he felt hella frustrated that he couldn't help because of the whole 'Pokeball lock' deal. He assisted in the evacuation of the areas, but saw a few glimpses of your battle. He felt indebted personally when he saw you fighting with your bare hands to help everyone out. He wasn't sure how to go about tracking you down to thank you, but like the others, he figured if anyone could find you, I could."

May chuckled, squeezing Ash's hand. "Gee, Ash, you certainly have a knack for getting the attention of the Champions, huh? Lance, Wallace, you told me a lot about Cynthia too. And now another."

Ash shrugged. "Same reason I used to meet Legendary Pokemon every other day, I guess" he said.

"No arguing with that logic" Brock said, amused.

Scott smiled at their conversation. "Well, as much as I'd like to hang around…" for the first time, his face seemed to fall, "I have a very big job. Casualties were prevented, but there's a lot of property damage that has to be fixed before we can resume the tournament."

"Oh, yeah…" Ash said sheepishly, remembering Articuno's attacks, how they plowed through the landscape. And for how dangerous it was, Ice was the least destructive of the types the birds held. He could only imagine how much damage Zapdos' Electric attacks, or Moltres' Fire attacks, had down to the island.

"Don't sweat it" Scott said, noticing his face. "Place probably be a lot worse off if you didn't do what you did. Any damages caused by your battle were best-case scenario."

"Oh, yeah" Ash said, visibly relieved. "Well, thanks for checking on me, Scott. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, no problem, Ash" Scott said. "I'll admit, it's pretty great to see you back. I'll be rooting for you from the sidelines, even though I'm not supposed to have favorites." He cracked a grin. "Good luck out there."

Ash smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Scott. See you soon."

Nodding, Scott turned on the spot, and walked back out of the room, a gust of cold air blowing into the room as the door opened again. As the sound of the door closing snapped through the room, Ash couldn't help but smile slightly, the sizable burden he had been carrying finally fully off of his chest. He let out a light sigh, tension in his muscles leaving.

The Pokemon, who had remained rather silent during Scott's visit, started talking to each other once more, their voices coming up from behind the couch, as Ash turned away from the door, and back to the other two.

"So, I guess I'm stuck as Aaron" Ash said, with a disappointed tone.

"For now" May said, hugging him. "I know it sounds cruel, but Delia isn't losing anything by not knowing you're back. I just don't want her to worry. If she learns your back, and stuck on the island, after the news of the attack, she'll worry herself too much."

"I know… It's just…" Ash broke off. "It's just hard. I've missed her too. She thought I was dead, and me again. I had to live, knowing that, and knowing that I'd never be able to see her again even though we were both alive. I know, it was harder on her, but still, that doesn't mean I don't feel different about how much it… Just _sucks_ having to wait longer."

May smiled sympathetically, and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "..." No further words needed to be spoken, they sat in silence for a moment, trying to relax through the tension they shared.

Feeling his disturbance, Riolu jumped onto the back of the couch, and Kirlia appeared in a soft flash of light, right next to him, shocking the duo by their sudden appearance. The two of them placed their hands on Ash, both of them sensing his current sorrow through their empathetic abilities. He had been in a constant state of it over the past years, but this was different enough to catch their attention. Riolu felt the aggravated Aura of Ash calm as they all stood there.

Minutes passed, and Ash sat up. He smiled at the three surrounding him, the silent message thanks coming from his eyes. Riolu smiled, and nodded at Kirlia, both of them happy that they helped calm their trainer. It was always uplifting when they were able to help their friend.

Ash held his hands forward. The gems embedded in the gloves began to swirl with light blue energy, which spread between his hands, solidifying into the clubbed staff he used so often. Bracing it against the ground, he pushed himself to his feet once more, wobbling momentarily, but finding his balance. May stood up with him, making sure he didn't fall over.

Ash chuckled. "You know May, you don't have to treat me like I'm so weak" he said.

"It's not always about you, Ash" May said with a smirk. "Maybe I just want to help because I care, whether or not you feel like you need it."

Ash rolled his eyes playfully. "Well, if you're so insistent…"

Brock smiled as he heard the banter between the two. In his studies to become a Pokemon Doctor, he had to learn quite a bit of Psychology to go along with it. Ash, he was obviously making an effort. It was forced on his part, to an extent, to fall back into old patterns. He was different now, it was harder to act the same way. But all the same, it was heartwarming to see the old dynamic between the two of them.

"...out and check on my Pokemon" Ash said. "I trust you guys completely with taking care of them, but you know how it is. I still want to check on them myself."

May nodded. "If it were Blaziken and the others, I would feel the same way" she said.

Brock stood up just as the two made to make their way towards the back door. "Hey Ash" he said. "I was thinking, I think I should go grab Max, Dawn, and Gary real fast, and bring them over. After all, they'll be worrying themselves sick over your condition."

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to see them again…" he said.

"I'll bet" Brock said. "I'll have them up and over in just a few minutes, so don't go anywhere."

Ash chuckled. "Just how fast do you think I can move right now?"

* * *

"What?! What's happened to him?!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Shut it, Dawn!" Max shot over, pushing past her. "Stop yapping, let's get over there!"

"Guys…"

Before Brock could get a word in edgewise, the three of them barrelled out the door past him, rushing up the street at speeds that would put a Jolteon to shame.

He sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have opened by saying 'It's about Ash...'"

No choice remaining, he ran up the street after them.

* * *

After barely surviving the onslaught of exceptionally affectionate and worried Pokemon Ash sat down, breathing hard, attempting to recover from the attack. Hey, it could have been worse. At least he taught Rotom how to not let out sporadic Discharge attacks when he was excited. Although, he still had to work on the strength with which Pidgeot tackled him. She seemed to revert back to her days as a Pidgeotto whenever she got wound up, and forgot just how much force she carried with a tackling hug.

After making sure that all of his limbs were still attached after the impact, Ash sat back, and subconsciously gave everyone the once-over. Besides looking tired, most of them appeared fine. Pidgeot was the only one who showed a sign of injury, her front feathers were seared from what appeared to be an Electric attack. But it wasn't a major injury.

"I'm so proud of you all" Ash said immediately. To his satisfaction, each of his Pokemon seemed significantly happier as he said that. "You are all great. Even without me, you guys went and risked your lives to help everyone. I couldn't ask for better partners, better friends."

Narrowly avoiding another collision between him and all his Pokemon, he chuckled. "You guys, get good rest today. It sounds like we've got a bit of a break, so… We'll find something to do, something… Relaxing."

Riolu glanced up at his trainer. "Ri Ri?" he asked incredulously.

Ash rolled his eyes. "What do you mean I _never_ let you guys relax?" he asked.

"Iolu, Rio Ri Riolu Rio" Riolu barked.

"Come on, Mt. Quena wasn't that bad of a place to hang out between missions" Ash countered. "It just seems different now because we're taking a break mid-mission."

"Lu" Riolu said dismissively, waving his paw.

May looked back and forth between the two of them, eyebrows raised. "Ash, I know you understand some of what your Pokemon are saying, but did you just have a full-blown conversation with Riolu?"

"Yeah" Ash nodded. "Me and Riolu have been Aura training together, we have this link together that helps us communicate. We've gone further, but this is our basic connection."

May smiled. "Well, I never knew Aura allowed for that level of communication, besides Lucario's telepathy. That's really cool."

"Yeah, well…" Ash shrugged. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

He visibly tensed up. "For example…" he groaned, holding up a hand, spread wide.

Slowly, he began retracting fingers. Four, three, two, one…

There was a sound like a cannon blast behind them, causing May to snap her head back, but not before she saw Ash sit, appearing to curl up and brace himself. And at a second's glance, she knew exactly why he was doing that.

A trio of familiar people stood at the far end of the living room, having just thrown the door open rather violently, a panting, dark-skinned Pokemon Doctor running up behind them. Dawn was the first to notice May just outside of the back door. And a mere instant later, she noticed the figure beside her.

She immediately sprinted across the room, Gary and Max noticing her and following behind. Brock, realizing he couldn't slow them, took his time making his way across the room.

The three of them appeared in the gap of the sliding glass door that stood between the living room and the backyard. "May!" Dawn said, briefly hugging her friend before turning to the side, noticing Ash, who was hunched over on the ground, "Is he…" her tone betrayed something akin to fear.

Looking down, May finally realized what had happened, and a smirk danced across her face. "Oh, don't worry about him" she said in a singsong voice. "He just felt you coming and prepared himself for a preemptive tackle-hug."

If you listened closely, you could hear a short moan emerge from the bundle as May spilled the beans. Riolu shot a glare up at the brunette, and she could tell that he was merely passing a message along for Ash.

A well deserved message too. Slowly, Dawn turned to Ash, being the first to take in the news. A massive smile ballooned on her face as she looked at him. She dived forward in a hug "ASH!"

" _Crap!"_

* * *

Feeling even more sore than after he had been all but struck down by Articuno, Ash tenderly sat back against the house. As comfortable as the couch was, he needed the fresh air right then. He had to survive a double improvised Vicegrip from Dawn and Max, followed by a very energetic pat on the back from his old rival and friend, Gary.

Of course, Pidgeot, Butterfree, and Primeape recognized Gary, at least. But after they got over their shock, the remaining group flocked to defend their trainer, unleashing a combination of attacks. Dawn was on the receiving end of a bad Discharge from Rotom, causing her hair to stand on end, poofing outwards, while Max couldn't separate Ash's Kirlia from how his own used to look, just long enough to be knocked back by a Confusion attack. Gary had to jump nearly five feet in the air to avoid having his legs broken by a particularly ferocious Brick Break from Riolu.

It took a solid minute for Ash to recover from his friends' 'affection' enough to try and get his Pokemon to calm down. Once he was able to get the message across the Riolu, Riolu was able to take command and communicate with the others/beat some sense into them. Pidgeot joined in to help stop the fighting, while Primeape watched with interest.

Ash let out a groan. Between the anguish of reliving the past three years, the stress of Scott's visit, and recent events, this first morning was turning out to be quite a bit more draining than almost any time he could remember in the past years.

"Um… Sorry, Ash" Dawn apologized sheepishly. "I guess we got a bit carried away."

Ash let out another groan in agreement, not currently having the energy to form coherent words. Cracking an eye open, he looked at the three surrounding him. May sat by his side, trying to help him. Brock stood just inside the house, letting these three have their moment with him.

With a cough, he found words again. "Remind me, why did I miss you guys?" he croaked, his voice sounding raw, yet slightly amused.

At once, all three of them became very interested in their shoes. "We, we just really missed you" Max piped up.

Ash chuckled. "I know…" he said. "I missed you guys too."

Summoning all of his strength, he managed to push himself into a position where he sat slightly taller. He cracked a small grin. "Wow, Max, you're like twice the size you used it be" he commented. "Is that really still you?"

Blushing slightly, Max nodded. "Yeah, it's me." His voice was noticeably deeper too. He still had that childish tone, but it had changed a good amount. "I could ask the same thing of you, though. You look almost completely different."

"Well, I'm very much different, but I'm still me" Ash admitted. He looked to the side. "It's great to see you too, Gary. And you, Dawn." He laughed lightly. "You guys look pretty much the same as you did before, though."

"Well, we've already gone through puberty" Dawn chuckled.

"And besides, just because we look the same on the surface, doesn't mean that things are just the same" Gary pointed out, subtly taking ahold of Dawn's hand, gripping it tightly.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Ash, who's mouth opened slightly. "Oh wow, you two?" Ash asked. "I never would have seen that coming…"

"Too bad I can't say the same" Dawn smirked, shooting a look over at May. "You didn't waste much time, did you, girl?" she teased.

May's face glowed a light red from the prodding. "Dawn…" May said lowly. She suddenly broke out into a grin. "Do you honestly think that will really be able to get to me? It's nothing to be ashamed of, after all."

Dawn's grin exceeded May's. "Nah, but it's good to hear you confirm it, straight from the Ponyta's mouth."

Smiling right back, May found her own fingers laced between Ash's. Feeling the contact, Ash looked over, an unconscious smile forming on his face as well. "You know, I would have told you too" he complained.

"Yeah, but I figured I'd reserve the teasing for the one of you that didn't look like you just got dragged through the Reverse World with a close scrape with Giratina to boot" Dawn pointed out.

Ash blinked. "Do I really look that bad?" he asked, looking down at his mummified torso.

"You kidding? You look like death incarnate right now" Gary said.

May shot a look at Gary. "He does not look _that_ bad" she said sharply. Anyone listening knew for a fact, that she left no room for argument.

As the conversation went down, Max looked back and forth between his sister, and Ash. "Wait, you two are together?" he asked the pair.

May smiled and looked up at Max. "There's not anything wrong with that, is there?"

For a second, Max didn't react. Then, he couldn't help but smile either, and shook his head. "No, I'm just surprised that it happened so fast!" he admitted. "Heck, if anyone were going to be my brother-in-law, Ash would be the top of my list."

Ash blinked. "'Brother-in-law'?" he asked.

May flushed. "Max, we literally just found each other, and we aren't even of age yet" she pointed out. "It's a little soon to start throwing terms like 'in-laws' into the mix."

Ash blinked again, then what May and Max had both gone at sunk in completely. Face pinkening slightly as well, he rehashed what May had said.

After the incident, Ash looked at Max again. "Oh, and for what it's worth, Max…" he said. "Sorry for knocking you out of the tournament so early on."

"Knocking me…?" Max began, before recognition dawned on his face. " _You_ were Aaron Satoshi?" he asked. He looked behind him, and was immediately able to pick out Ash's Butterfree from the group. "I _knew_ I remembered you having a Pidgeot!"

Ash chuckled at Max's immediate enthusiasm. He was still _just_ the same. "Smart, remembering my old Pokemon. I would think you would have recognized Butterfree too, though."

"Max knew a lot about your past from watching your old battles" Brock pointed out. "Butterfree never really made any big appearances, not even in a Gym Battle, if I remember" he paused. "Well, with Misty, you did, but that wasn't a recorded battle at all. He wouldn't have had any way to know about him."

Max took stock of all of Ash's Pokemon. "So, the Pidgeot that you released a long time ago, a Butterfree that you've had for a long time also, wow, your Volcarona looks _really_ strong! Rotom, Riolu, you have a Kirlia?!" He turned around. "Do you think you can give me tips with Gardevoir? Kirlia looks like it's really strong and happy at the same time!"

Max rattled off the questions at the speed of light, and Ash took a while to catch up. The first thing he noticed, was a pair missing from Max's list. "Hey Brock?" he asked. "Where's Lapras and the baby?"

"I kept them in their balls" Brock said. "I left them there because we didn't have anywhere around here where they could stay out."

Ash nodded. "Thanks for that, we'll just have to find time to let them out on the beach, so they can spend some time out in the open" he said. He looked back at Max. "Um, I can tell you what's worked for Kirlia, but every Pokemon is different, Max. I don't remember much about the Ralts we saw back in Hoenn, but she could have been the complete opposite of Kirlia."

"Yeah, I know…" Max admitted. "But maybe some of the things that you learned about Kirlia as a Pokemon could have helped. I still want to get better, even if I'm not in the tournament anymore. Gardevoir wants to get stronger too."

"I'll see about it sometime, Max" Ash promised. "Alright?"

Max smiled hugely and nodded. "That would be great, Ash" he said. He scratched his head in a sheepish manner. "I don't even see you for five minutes, and I'm already all over your Trainer's skills again, sorry about that."

Ash let out a low chuckle. "It's no problem, Max, I know you. It's perfectly fine."

Gary cleared his throat. "So…" he said. "Ash, you want to tell us where you've been these past few years? And why you're here, now, of all times and places?"

It didn't take a psychologist to see how Ash visibly tensed, and retracted when the question was asked. His eyes almost seemed to pull backwards into his head.

May noticed this more than anyone. "Ash…" she said, catching his attention.

When he turned his head, May felt a pit in her stomach. He must still have felt so vulnerable, so raw, from reliving it all earlier. She could see that the thought of going through it twice in such a short span of time was quite stressful to him.

She realized, at that moment while looking at him, that he really skipped over a _lot_ of his story.

"Is everything alright?" Gary asked, looking at his childhood friend in worry.

Ash glanced back up. A quiet scratching emerged from his throat, as he began to get ready to talk.

"Wait, Ash, how about you let me?" May offered. When Ash looked at her in surprise, she squeezed his hand comfortably. "You told us enough earlier, I can tell them for you so you don't have to."

"..." Ash didn't say anything, but his eyes softened. A look of great thanks came through, filling May with an inexplicable warm feeling.

"One thing, Ash" May said, lowering her voice. "Do you want me to tell them why you're here? Mewtwo made it sound like it's something you really wanted to keep close."

Ash let out a small breath. "...You can tell them, I trust them too…"

May nodded, and the two of them shared a small smile.

Dawn looked back and forth between the two. "What's going on, here?" she asked.

May gave the tiniest of nods Ash's way, before turning towards the three. "Well, I'm about to tell you all what I know about what Ash has been up to" she stated. "I just had to make sure he was fine with that."

Gary looked back at his childhood friend. "And you gave her the 'go'?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, she's good to go" he said. "Sorry, but, just saying it myself, again…"

"Hey, no problem, Ashy-boy" Gary said, smirking as he used the old nickname. "You've got to have your reasons, we won't pry."

Ash briefly nodded, just before Max nearly exploded in excitement. "So, how long until we hear this thing?!" he asked.

"Right now" May assured her little brother. "You all remember that day, three years ago? Well, it all started right after that, with this Mewtwo…

* * *

 _ **Afterwards**_

* * *

"So, let me wrap this all up with a nice little bow" Gary said. "That fake Mew from your little adventure on Mt. Quena saved your life so you could risk it on a bi-weekly basis saving the world from catastrophe, at one point saving the time-space continuum, and you came here because the people behind the tournament ended up capturing Mew and you need to save it?"

"More or less, yeah" Ash said, slightly amused by Gary's summary.

"So you got Volcarona from Alder and Kirlia from Diantha?" Max asked. "Wow, _two_ of your Pokemon have Champion's blood running through them?!"

"You've been gone, all these years, because you blamed yourself for everything?" Dawn asked sadly. "Oh, dangit, I should have been there that night! Maybe I could have said something to help you not feel so bad about it!"

"Don't feel guilty about that at all, Dawn" Ash commanded. "That wasn't your fault in the slightest. It was mine for being a stubborn Mudbray about it. I can see just how stupid it was of me to stay away this entire time, now. Hindsight's always perfect, after all…"

"But we can hardly blame you for what you did" Dawn said, pulling Ash into another big hug. Luckily, during the rehashing of Ash's past few years, Ash had recovered enough to stagger to his feet. He waited for May to get to the part about him learning about how to harness his Aura, however, to do so, so that the Bone Rush he created didn't cause as massive a shock. Dawn had also calmed down, so his bones weren't nearly liquified again by her Vice Grip of a hug. "I _know_ that it wasn't my fault, but that doesn't change how sorry for you I feel about it."

Surprisingly, Ash felt an immense comforting at Dawn's words. It felt as if a knife had stabbed right through him, releasing a dam. He had felt similarly around Brock and May, but this had been the first time that he heard that one of his friends that hadn't been present didn't blame him. Having the knowledge was one thing, but hearing it firsthand…

Ash hurriedly blinked the tears that had sprung to his eyes away, and returned the hug that Dawn was giving him. Moments passed, and the two separated. Dawn smiled cheerfully at Ash. "But you're back now" she pointed out. "And you're with May. Come on, no need to worry."

Ash couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. Much has changed in three years, sure. But 'no need to worry' was still Dawn's most common phrase. "Thanks, Dawn, you always knew just how to cheer me up."

"She's infectious at it, I'll say" May chimed in. She had a feeling that she should have been sort of jealous that Dawn had hugged Ash for so long, but she knew a few things, like that her best friend was already in a relationship, and those two were close in more of a sibling way than anything. Besides, Dawn was her best friend. How could she be mad at her for anything?

Gary sat down and let out a deep breath. "So, this tournament is a lot more important that I originally thought, eh?" he asked. "I mean, an entire colony of Pokemon, plus the ancestor of all Pokemon, at risk of being taken out by Team Rocket?" He rubbed his temples. "You know, I knew I should have kept up on my training, even during my studies… I feel like this is gonna bite me in the rear."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Gary" Ash said. "I don't mean to brag, but I could probably hold my own against the Champions right now, and I barely stood a chance against their attack yesterday."

He frowned in concentration. "I just wish I could figure out how they managed to control the Shamouti Birds. Not only were they one a destructive rampage, but I know them. They're powerful, but they aren't _that_ powerful."

May gave Ash a worried look. "Wait, then what exactly are they capable of, Ash?" she asked. "That doesn't sound like something Team Rocket would be capable of."

"May, when we travelled together, you only really saw Jessie, James, and Meowth in action" Ash said. "You saw a bit of Team Magma and Team Aqua. They were what these criminal organizations look like. And they were misguided. They did bad, laboring under the illusion that they were helping the world. And we saw them change when they saw their errors."

Gary nodded. "But Team Rocket is different. I've seen a bit of a few of this organizations in my studies. Galactic, sure, but my home is Kanto. Team Rocket is the largest of the groups, based in Kanto, and the only one to have fallen, yet risen again." Gary leaned back. "About three years before me and Ash set out from Pallet Town, there was another trainer that left, named Red. That kid single-handedly fought through scores of Rocket Agents when they took over the Silph Company, the biggest corporation in Kanto, and pursued their boss until he was defeated and sent packing. But soon after Red left Kanto, their boss returned, and they started rising up again. Any other group that has fallen, stayed down for good. But not these lunatics."

"Team Rocket doesn't even have a false goal" Ash continued. "They aim to rule to world through any means necessary, by collecting power, stealing, and even killing." Ash shuddered. "One time, during those few years, I came across a small battalion of them, terrorizing a town. They had a leader, Archer, who was commanding his Houndoom to burn down buildings, and attack innocents. Even children…" The horrified look on all five of the other's faces was tangible.

"They were looking to send a message of fear across Johto" Ash said. "Mewtwo has a special hatred for Team Rocket, so whenever we have a chance to spot them in action, Mewtwo makes us fight them. Mewtwo fights to kill the Rockets, but not me. Usually…" Ash's eyes glazed over, and a faint blue light took up around him.

May, standing directly beside Ash, holding him, suddenly felt an extreme distress. Several emotions, rage, fear, horror, all of them, began flooding her senses. She had no idea where they were coming from, but her breathing became shallow; it was as if something was happening, as if she were experiencing something without being able to sense it.

Without warning, Ash pulled away from her. When he left her side, all of a sudden, the emotions died out. Her bod was still tense from the experience, but she was no longer actively feeling the raw emotion. She looked up at Ash, and she could see a look of regret in his eyes.

"May, I'm sorry" Ash said quickly. "I should have kept in control, I completely forgot-"

May took a shuddering breath. She remembered, Tracey and Misty had mentioned a blue mist coming off of Aaron, that seemed to transmit the force of unknown horrors, directly into Misty. She had a feeling, that she had just experienced that herself. She had literally been doused in what Ash had been feeling. It was almost as if she had been there, but only the emotions of the experience remained. Everything else was just out of reach… Almost out of reach…

She looked back up at Ash. "Mewtwo… Mentioned something about you murdering someone… And the name 'Archer'" she connected. Looking at the pained expression on Ash's face, she knew she had struck home.

"For a brief moment, I lost myself" Ash admitted, now oblivious to everyone but May. "He was actively commanding his Houndoom, that vicious Pokemon, to use Flamethrower and Bite attacks on everyone from the people fighting back, to the children watching, running away. I saw red… I knew that I couldn't let him get away with it…"

He let out a shaky breath. "I did it, and even though I felt he deserved it, I've regretted what I did every day since." He didn't know how May would react. He just confessed that he had killed in cold blood, he had murdered a man, who while he had committed terrible atrocities himself, to his knowledge, hadn't murdered anyone yet.

He was a killer.

The last though was the source of his surprise when seconds later, May had stepped forward and held his hand tightly in her own. "Ash…" she whispered. "I know you. You aren't that person. What happened, you can't beat yourself up over." She looked down. "I… I think… No, I know. If I had been in that situation, with your abilities, I would have done the same. Attacking children, that is unforgivable, no matter what angle it's looked at from."

Leaning in close, May briefly pressed her lips against his own. The kiss only lasted a second, but in Ash's mind, it seemed to be much longer than that. She pulled away, and smiled at him. "You never were one to show anything but kindness to the people who fought against you, after all. That's who you are."

The pair merely looked at each other for several more moments, before a rather loud throat clearing interrupted them. They both looked up, blushing slightly at their lack of attention to the situation around them. Gary lowered his hand, having been the one to clear his throat. "Sorry to break up the moment, but you were telling us what you knew about Team Rocket?" The other four were visibly shocked at the knowledge that Ash had killed someone, but appeared to be thinking along similar lines to May.

"Oh yeah" Ash said. "Well, yeah. Team Rocket knows that they're being evil, they aren't going to have an epiphany and come to the light like all the others. They have vast resources too. They controlled the Legendary Birds of Shamouti, and that's no easy task."

Brock frowned. "Ash, I can think of one person from Team Rocket that knows how to take control of a Pokemon and increase their power" he said.

Ash realized where Brock was going, and he shook his head. "It wasn't him, it wasn't even a Dark Ball" Ash dismissed. "A Dark Ball doesn't lose its influence when the Pokemon captured in it is defeated, and Riolu told me that the other birds came back to their senses when the others defeated them."

"Wait, a Dark Ball?" Max asked. "I know every kind of Pokeball, from basic ones, to Master Balls, Cherish Balls, even about the rumored Dream Balls. But I've never heard of Dark Balls."

"Be glad you haven't, Max" Brock said darkly. "Back when me and Ash were in Johto, we met a Rocket agent called the Iron-Masked Marauder. He specialized in using a special kind of ball called a Dark Ball. They had really high catching power, he even managed to catch a Celebi in one. A Pokemon in a Dark Ball immediately loses their conscience and gains a massive power boost, making them powerful slaves."

"Luckily, he was locked up, and to my knowledge, still it" Ash said. "In fact, I doubt anyone but him know the secret to making Dark Balls, otherwise I'm sure that I would have seen at least one other Rocket with one."

"But then I can't see the way they took control of them" Brock persisted. "About the only other thing that could take control of a Pokemon that powerful would be Hypnosis, but not even Mewtwo would have enough Psychic power to take over a Pokemon like that, and Mewtwo is the most powerful Psychic in existence."

"Maybe he could do it when he's Mega Evolved or Bursting, but even then, it's doubtful" Ash mused.

"'Bursting'?" Dawn asked.

"Another long story" Ash said. "Involving a particular mission that took place in another region called Ferrum."

"Oh" Dawn said.

Max struck a thinking pose. "So we can rule out control by another Pokemon, because Hypnosis isn't powerful enough."

"And Lugia wasn't here, and he's the only one that has some form of leadership over them" Ash said.

Max nodded. "And the only things you know that can bring a Pokemon under complete control, the Dark Balls, don't fit the circumstances." He looked upwards. "Is it possible that they caught them a while back and broke them to their will? Wild Pokemon tend to obey trainers without question after a while."

Ash shook his head. "No, I've seen them too recently for that" he stated. "Maybe a month is enough time to get to bond that closely with a normal Pokemon with a normal Trainer. But with those as cruel as Team Rocket, and Pokemon as powerful as the Shamouti Birds, there wasn't nearly enough time for that to be an option. Besides, Riolu told me that the others were completely feral when they fought, and once they were defeated, they seemed themselves once again. More confused than anything."

" _Gah!"_ Max exclaimed. "This is driving me crazy. We've run through just about every possibility, and each one is getting turned down!"

Ash sighed. "I know, Max. I nearly drove myself crazy a few days ago when we learned that Team Rocket had something planned. Me and Mewtwo brainstormed everything from Shadow Pokemon to an armed strike, and we couldn't have been further…" Ash's eyes widened. "Wait a moment… Shadow Pokemon…"

"Um… Shadow Pokemon?" Dawn asked.

"Something we came across in our travels, another evil team found a way to drastically increase a Pokemon's power by closing their hearts. Effectively the powers of a Dark Ball, but revolving around the Pokemon and not the capsule they're in" Ash explained. "They've rarely been harnessed outside of the Orre Region, however, Mewtwo told me that he knew that one of the neighboring regions once faced a similar problem, even though it was solved without us."

"So Shadow Pokemon go back to normal Pokemon when defeated?" May asked.

"Not exactly, May" surprisingly, Gary answered, to the general shock of Ash.

"You know about them?" Ash asked.

"Of course, I'm a researcher, and those events in Orre were documented, after all" Gary said. "Heck, one of the headmasters of the most recent plan, dude by the name Greevil, confessed the secrets to making and breaking a Shadow Pokemon as a way to try and make up for what he had done." He shook his head. "Sadly, the only way that a Shadow Pokemon can be cured is through a long process of treating the Pokemon kindly. In order to fully banish the Shadow effects, special energy is required."

"They weren't Shadow Pokemon, then" Ash summed up. "I got ahead of myself. Not only did they not use any darkened moves, but I could have felt a Shadow Aura. Even without trying, they're make themselves known."

" _You know, it would appear that I have the capabilities to find the answer myself."_

Ash blinked, and looked around. While the others looked confused and surprised, he let out a breath. "Well, Mewtwo, are you going to keep us in the dark about it? Or just keep spying?"

A brief flash of purple energy lit up the morning yard, as Mewtwo materialized, a figure levitating above him.

"I wasn't spying" Mewtwo said cooly, oblivious to the shock that his sudden appearance had caused the others, especially Gary, who recognized Mewtwo from back in his Kanto League days. "However, when I looked your way, I gathered enough to discover what you were discussing."

It was at this point that attention seemed to be drawn to the curled figure above the Genetic Pokemon. "Who is that, Mewtwo?" Ash asked.

"This?" Mewtwo asked, throwing the figure to the ground, eliciting a groan from the person. "My inside source."

It was at this moment, as the man rolled over, that a small, bright red 'R' became apparently visible on the man's uniform. The man appeared to be more elderly than most Rocket agents, and donned an orange mustache and frizzy hair of the same color around his head, leaving a large bald patch in the center.

Ash's brow furrowed in recognition. "Hey…" he growled.

"He's the guy who was helping Butch and Cassidy go after that baby Lugia" Brock said, recognizing him as well. "Professor Nimbus."

"Doctor Namba" the figure groaned faintly in response.

"I was unaware that you trapped any of the Rockets" Ash said, looking at Mewtwo. "I thought you would have just taken them down on the spot."

"Many of them managed to flee" Mewtwo growled. "I don't know how, but they managed to escape me. However, I managed to ensnare this one before he could re-board the helicopter, fleeing among the rest. And lucky I did, for he seems to be the brains behind yesterday's attack!"

"P-p-p-please, d-d-d-don't hurt me" Namba said, quivering in fear on the ground.

Mewtwo growled again, and a Psycho Cut extended from his hand, right next to the face of the terrified scientist. "How much I _hurt you_ depends on how quickly you explain what exactly you scumbags did here the previous night!" he said threateningly.

Even though Mewtwo wasn't directing his anger towards them, Dawn, Gary, and Max were frozen in terror. The stories did no justice to the killing intent Mewtwo's mere presence could put out. If Mewtwo could use Glare, they'd be permanently paralyzed.

"Alright, just p-p-p-please, don't use t-t-t-that thing!" Namba shrieked.

Ash frowned. "I don't remember him being this cowardly" he muttered. "Just what have you done to him, Mewtwo?"

"Who can care to remember?" Mewtwo said nonchalantly, retracting his Psycho Cut. "Now, _talk,_ or perhaps you don't feel the need for your left arm anymore?"

"No, no, I'll talk!" Namba said. "Just, please, don't tell Giovanni!"

"At this rate, it is extremely unlikely that you'll ever see Giovanni again" Ash muttered. "You're either getting thrown into prison, or Mewtwo is going to have his way with you. So don't worry about that."

The differences between the two's methods was strange. Ash seemed to remain authoritative over the fallen scientist, keeping him feeling threatened without actually delivering threats. Mewtwo, on the other hand, constantly put the pressure of looming death over him.

It was a master's game of good cop/bad cop.

"O-o-o-ok" Namba stuttered, sighing. "W-w-w-we knew we needed a way to keep everyone restricted until w-w-w-we were done. I d-d-developed a wave frequency machine that could briefly lock Pokeballs, b-b-but we knew that there may have been Pokemon that were out at the t-t-time. S-s-s-so we needed Pokemon c-c-c-capable of holding them down."

"So you locked our Pokeballs. We figured that much" Ash said. " _How_ did you take control of the Legendary Pokemon?"

"W-w-w-we used M-m-m-mega Evolution energy" Namba revealed.

Everyone blinked. "Wait, hold on" Max said. "Mega Evolution energy? I thought the only thing that that was actually good for was, well, Mega Evolving."

"How did you learn about the energy?" Ash asked.

"W-w-w-we bought the secrets from a t-t-team in Kalos" he said. "T-t-t-team Flare. They had b-b-b-been practicing with the energy for something much larger. It could take control of a Pokemon and release all inhibitions. They had yet t-t-t-to test it on a Legendary Pokemon, but they were confident that it would work."

"Wait, what's Team Flare?" May asked, looking at Ash.

For once, Ash was just as confused. "Whoever they are, they must be new to the scene. I've never heard of them" he admitted. "But they're a Kalos native team, from the sound of it." He looked over at Mewtwo. "Hey-"

"I know, I know" Mewtwo griped. "I'll go give Hoopa a visit sometime today, and see if he has anything for us. If not, he can at least keep an eye through those rings of his."

Ash nodded. "Make sure he knows to be careful. It sounds like these guys can take control of any Pokemon with this energy. If Hoopa falls under their control…"

There was no need for him to finish. The others may have known nothing about Hoopa besides a mention from Ash, and by extent, May, but between Ash and Mewtwo, they knew. If Hoopa fell under someone's control, it could easily mean the end of the world. Especially if they managed to get ahold of the Prison Bottle as well.

"So…" Ash began to sum up. "You guys bought the secrets of Mega Evolution energy from a Team known as Team Flare in Kalos to use it to control Legendary Pokemon to attack the island and capture Mew?"

Namba nodded vigorously. "Yes, and I tampered with the energy, s-s-s-so that it enhanced their powers as well as controlled it."

"That explains their power boost…" Ash muttered. Looking up, Ash's eyes softened, and he opened a brief link with Mewtwo. " _He isn't going to go back to Team Rocket now, and he helped us. Put your killing urge aside, drop him in the nearest prison, and let them know that he was mostly responsible for the attack yesterday. He won't die, but he'll be behind bars for life."_

" _Come on, do I_ have _to let him live?"_ Mewtwo complained, almost childishly.

" _Yes"_ Ash commanded more forcibly. " _After all, he did assist us in the end, even if it was with the mess he created. He broken even."_

There was a moment of silence, before Mewtwo looked Ash directly in the eyes. "Fine" he growled, and in a flash of light, he and Namba vanished.

Max blinked. " _Fine?_ " he asked. "Where did that come from?"

"I won an argument" Ash said simply.

"Um, what argument?" Dawn asked. "You didn't even say anything."

"Aura Link" Ash answered. "I can briefly synchronize Auras with Mewtwo to allow for communication, more if need be, like sharing power."

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Color me impressed" he answered. "Hearing about it is one thing, but man, you're kind of a superhero now, aren't you?"

"Not really" Ash said confusedly. "Technically, anyone could do it, I just happened to be able to catch on really fast. It's like that old anime, the part where the really powerful kid went to highschool and didn't realize just how much he had to suppress his power because people didn't understand it. Anyone could do it if they knew how, but it's a little freaky to those who don't."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Gary shrugged. "You're running around in a cape when you need to use your powers too, coincidentally enough."

"Oh, enough with the teasing" Dawn chuckled at her boyfriend.

While the banter was going on, May looked over at Ash. She didn't know how to feel about the situation that just went down. While she had been with Ash this morning, he seemed to be a more scarred version of himself. But when he and Mewtwo were interrogating Namba, he seemed, completely different. It was no surprise, he was bound to have changed a lot in the past three years, she just didn't realize just how much he had been holding the change back.

She sealed her lips and looked at him. His new personality seemed, quite dominating. He almost seemed to radiate superiority while he was talking. She wondered if that was something that came from his Aura, releasing a pressure into the air.

However, mere moments after Mewtwo left, Ash seemed to shrink back down. Was that just a face he put on when he needed to be so for the mission?

Ash looked back at her and smiled. "Sorry about that" he said, surprising her. "I didn't expect things to kick back up so fast this morning. It kinda surprised me that Mewtwo imprisoned one of them."

May blinked. "That's alright" she said. "I mean, you figured out something helpful, right?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah…" he said. "While I'm here, well, Team Rocket is still a threat to Mew. And I need to make sure he stays safe until the end."

"Speaking of which, Ash, why haven't you just tried to find Mew through your Aura yet?" May wondered. "I mean, wouldn't it be easier to find Mew and free him rather than have to win the tournament?"

"Well, the thing is, Mew may have been captured unfairly, but no one here knows that" Ash explained. "They don't even know that it's Mew, they just think that it's an exceptionally powerful Zoroark with some moves that it shouldn't know. Pokemon that know moves that that species can't normally learn have always been popular…"

"And because everyone thinks it's just a really powerful Pokemon, you'd just be labeled a thief if you tried to free him" May realized where he was going.

Ash nodded. "It's hard enough being the Chosen One with the villains against you, let alone the rest of the world" Ash pointed out. "People can be really smart with their technology, I'd be found out even if I got away without anyone seeing me on the way out." Ash paused. "If I wanted to keep doing my duties, I need to win and set Mew free. If worst comes to worse, Mewtwo found Mew and put a fault in his cage, so that if he was moved at all should the Rockets get ahold of him, he'd be able to escape on his own."

"Well that's good news" May smiled. "I wasn't sure why I didn't think about that when you were talking about more of us competing, more of us having a chance to win and free Mew. I guess I just figured you had your reasons."

Ash nodded. "You know, speaking of the competition, do you know who else is on the island?" Ash asked. "I know about you guys, of course, and about Tracey and Misty…" he trailed off again. "...The latter of whom is probably going to try in kill me…"

May felt torn between amusement and true fear for Ash's life, remembering the fiery redhead's temperament. "Yeah…"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Well, yeah, there's us and those two. Professor Oak came and joined us the other day. Scott said you fought alongside Paul, so you already know about him-"

"Oh crap!" Ash suddenly remembered. "Paul got attacked by Articuno too."

"Scott made him sound like he's still fine" May soothed Ash.

Ash took some deep breathes, but still seemed pretty worried. In the meantime, she continued. "According to Max and Gary, a lot of your old league rivals were here. Um, let's see. There was a Ritchie, a Cameron, oh, Morrison and Tyson were here too. And besides them, we ran into Iris and Cilan a couple days ago." Her eyes widened. "Oh, Ash, you'll never guess what."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"When we ran into Iris, we learned she got a pretty big promotion" she said. "Turns out, she's currently the Champion of Unova."

At this, Ash's eyes literally bugged. "Wait, she became _Champion?_ " he asked. "Wow, she really, wow…"

May laughed at Ash's reaction. After all, Champions are a pretty big deal! "Yeah, and she was pretty much role-playing as Diantha, opting for complete and utter isolation over publicity. We ran into her on accident."

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Man, and I thought I was crazy when I thought that it was her" he chuckled. "I guess Champion is a pretty big step towards Dragon Master, or maybe even the next level above it, depending on how she sees it."

"Yeah, she seemed pretty proud of it herself" May said. She looked up. "Then there's all the Champions, Elite 4, Gym Leaders, and Frontier Brains from all the regions beside her and the others. We also ran into, Tobias" she said.

Ash nodded. "I heard about all the others, and I saw Tobias the day before it all started" he said. Rubbing the side of his head, he sighed. "He's going to be the biggest threat here, I just know it."

"Don't worry about that for now, Ash" May said. "We've got a whole week before things even start back up."

"Yeah, I know" Ash said, lowering his hand. Looking up at May, he let out a breath. "Well, I know what I want to do first, anyways. I want to go check up on Paul."

"You're going to see Paul?" Max asked, walking up behind them. Apparently, the squabbling between the three had settled down, and they were back in the conversation.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, Paul and Electivire both risked their lives, helping me deal with Articuno out there. I need to check on him and make sure he's ok. He at least deserves to know who who helped fight alongside out there."

Dawn couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, once he gets over his shock, he's going to be so mad that it was you. That he _helped_ you. I mean, he's changed, but he hasn't changed _that_ much."

Ash let out a real laugh. "Yeah, well, either way, he deserves it" he said. "I'm guessing he'd probably be resting at the Pokemon Center?"

"With all the Pokemon on the island that got attacked yesterday? Doubt that they'd have the room" Brock said, rejoining the conversation himself now that the others had had some time with Ash. "There's an actual hospital on the island, Paul will probably at least being checked up there. After all, an exploding Hyper Beam from that Articuno? I'm guessing he's at least being demanded a day of bed rest."

"Well, you are the doctor, you'd probably know most" Gary pointed out. "You know, I never actually met Paul, even though I was in Sinnoh around the same time as you guys."

"Let me put it this way" Ash said. "Picture yourself back in our Kanto days, with purple hair, less cockieness, and more of an attitude problem, viewing everyone else as inferior more than yourself as superior, if that makes sense."

"Boy, he sounds like a nightmare" Gary grinned.

"He changed a bit after I beat him in Sinnoh. Never saw him after the League, though."

"Well, now you'll have a chance" May pointed out.

"Just hope that his Electivire is still resting too" Dawn said. "He might just command him to strangle you."

"Ah, come on, he was never like _that"_ Ash said, uncertainty showing in his voice.

"Sure, Ash, let's go with that" Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I hate to break things up, but we'd better get going if we want to get there before things get crowded" Brock pointed out.

Ash groaned. The last thing he wanted was even more attention around him. "Where's my cloak at?" he asked.

"Err…" Brock stuttered. "It's more bloody ribbons than anything, now. So… It's basically gone."

"What?" Ash groaned again. He facepalmed. "I still need to hide in public. How am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, your hat's intact" May pointed out. "We could just find a baggy coat with a hood, that ought to do the trick, right?"

"I guess."

"Perfect" Dawn said, clapping her hands together. "I'll go grab something for you!" In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Ash rubbed his eyes, making sure he was seeing right. "Did Dawn just use Extremespeed?"

"Anything that has to do with clothes, no matter what" Gary conceded. "It's _her_ superpower. We can't all be Aura Guardians, after all."

Ash and the others stumbled back inside. Quite honestly, Ash was feeling better quite rapidly. Sure, he still needed the bone to remain standing at all, but his chest was feeling less tight than it had earlier.

Grabbing his hat, he tossed it on his head. Then he looked down, where a couple of the Pokemon were resting. "Hey, Riolu" Ash said. "Ready to go see the guy that helped us out yesterday?"

Riolu glanced up at Ash, and nodded, hopping to his feet. "Ri Ri."

"Alright" Ash said. "And hey, Pikachu, you want to come with?"

A redundant question indeed. Had Ash not been in such a bad condition already, Pikachu would have given him one hell of a Thunderbolt for even needing to ask the question. "Pi-Ka!" Pikachu nodded, running up the couch and sitting right next to where Ash was standing.

May giggled. "You know, I think that's a yes."

"What gave it away?" Ash asked, eyebrows raised amusedly. Clearing his throat, he looked back down. "Kirlia, I want you to stay here and rest, though. Ok?"

"Lia Kirlia?!" Kirlia complained.

"You took a lot more damage than Riolu yesterday" Ash said. "Your Aura is still a lot weaker than it is normally, and I don't want you getting hurt at all, ok?"

His tone was gentle as he tried to soothe the small Psychic and Fairy type. Kirlia didn't appear happy, but she knew where he was coming from. "Lia…" Kirlia said smally, sitting back down.

May walked up beside Ash. "Ash, what about Glaceon? Do you think she's good to go?"

Ash frowned and looked down at the Fresh Snow Pokemon. He didn't have a normal Aura level to go off of, so he did his best to try and sense her condition. "Well, she's still pretty weakened, but she's recovered enough that if she really wanted to, she could come. I wouldn't recommend it, though. What happened to her yesterday?"

"She took Zapdos' Thunderbolt to launch a Mirror Coat attack at it" May answered. "It did a lot, but of course, in order to use it-"

"Glaceon had to take the attack head on" Ash finished, piecing it together. "That was really brave of her."

Glaceon smiled kindly at Ash's words, then looked at May. "Glace, Gla Gla Glaceon" she barked.

May nodded. "It sounds like Glaceon's staying for a while" she said. "She's going to take your advice and rest."

Ash nodded. "Sounds good" he said. "Hey, why don't you two hang out with each other and get to know each other?" he asked Kirlia and Glaceon. "I have a feeling you two will get along."

Just before the two could respond, there was a thumping of something flying down the stairs. The two of them turned around just in time to see Dawn skid to a stop in front of them. "Alright, Ash, I got the perfect thing" she said, holding a bundle of fabric in her arms.

Before he got a good look at it, she tossed it up and opened it, pulling it down over his head in one swift motion. His training told him he was being attacked, while he told himself that it was just Dawn. His momentary confusion immobilized him until the coat was completely on.

"What do you think? Just like your old outfit?" she asked.

Ash blinked and looked down. What we was wearing, it was a thick black coat that fell almost to his ankles and hung loosely off his body, with a massive hood in the back.

"Dawn?!" Ash asked. "I don't think she meant a _trenchcoat_ when May said I should wear a coat."

Dawn looked confused. "Well, that's just about the only spare cloak we have that has a hood. Besides, it looks like your old uniform, right?"

"My uniform was just a dark shirt and a cape, not something that makes me look creepy, just different" Ash explained.

"Well, Ash, you're going to have to deal with it until we can fix up your old outfit or get you a new one" Dawn pointed out. "Unless you'd rather do without something disguising yourself?"

" _Almost would"_ Ash thought. "Fine" he said out loud. "I'll wear it to disguise myself."

"Good, let's go then!" Dawn said, changing tact at the speed of sound and pulling the front door open.

Ash stepped outside hesitantly, May right beside him, Max and Gary coming out right ahead of Dawn. He gulped nervously. " _Well, it keeps me hidden"_ he admitted. " _I just wish I could find something that_ didn't _draw attention to myself!"_

None of his further concerns voiced, they all stepped into the open air, as Brock closed the door behind them. Walking to the head of the group, he looked around. "The infirmary is this way" he said, leading the way.

Following his lead, the group of eight, including Pikachu and Riolu, set out. Brock glanced back at Ash as they walked. "You know, as soon as Paul realizes that it's you, and once he's in a condition to do so, he's going to challenge you. There's no way around it."

Ash hadn't thought of that. "We'll, he'll have to wait, then, because most of my team happen to be recovering from yesterday" he said stoically.

Brock laughed. "Yeah, Paul? Waiting on battling you? Good luck with that!"

* * *

 **That seemed to be as good of a place as any to end things. One of the most difficult things about writing is finding a good way to end a chapter without it being awkward.**

 **Another mainly fluff chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed this one more. I would have updated the story a lot sooner, but besides college, now I have a mom in constant pain on bedrest after surgery. It's about as pleasant as it sounds. At least I finally got it up.**

 **Yes, I'm planning on having at least a small battle with Paul in the next chapter. Let's be honest, I was writing more of a DBZ fight than a Pokemon Battle when they fought Articuno. I need to practice actual Pokemon battles. Hopefully you guys are looking forward to that.**

 **I only have one other small note. I've been meaning to announce it here, but I don't think I ever got around to telling you guys about it. If you visit my profile and look at my stories, you'll see an old story there. Some of you may recognize it, some of you may not. It's called Time Can't Heal Every Pain. This story was an old favorite of mine, written by the author Legendary Mew. It's actually how I got a lot of my inspiration for the story. It got deleted a while back, but recently, I got permission from him to re-post it on my profile. It's not the greatest story, and it's incomplete, but I liked it. Feel free to check it out.**

 **But anyways, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, well, I love seeing reviews pop up in my inbox. Anyways, until next time, have a good time, and I'll cya all later!**


	14. Hardass Reunion

**So, I've been gone a while. Sorry. I haven't exactly been in the best frame of mind lately. Apparently something about having a healthier lifestyle meaning I don't eat a lot of processed foods means puberty is coming at its normal time, which is a lot later than you'd think. Some of you probably know your mental state can easily deteriorate then, but beyond that, I started writing a new story, and to be honest, it's a story that I've had more fun writing than any other. To snowball, my laptop's charger broke, meaning it's essentially been dead for a couple months until I got a new one. Bottom line, sorry for the long break. You guys ready to continue the story?**

 **Yeah, I thought so. Let's (looks at chapter 13 to remind himself where he was in the story) get down to it.**

 **(This next note was added months later)**

 **Two things. A) this is gonna be a much shorter chapter than anything else on here, and B) PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I'LL EXPLAIN AT THE END!**

* * *

"So that's the infirmary?" Ash grunted.

Cresting to the top of the hill, the group came to a halt as the beachfront was laid out before them. Obvious marks of yesterday's battle were scattered across the landscape, the glassy sand suggesting that this was where Moltres had attacked.

However, very little of the beach grounds was actually visible. Set up across the entirety of the sandy were massive white canopies, like the ones set up on battlefields for medical support during a war. The large white sheets covered most of the beachfront, staying somewhere between the tide and the storefront.

Brock nodded. "They set up as soon as they could after those three left the island last night. The Pokemon Center was overflowing with patients, people and Pokemon alike. They needed some extra space for everyone that got hurt in that attack."

Ash frowned. "I'd hoped more people got away free, but looking back, I only really distracted Articuno. Zapdos and Moltres were still causing plenty of havoc elsewhere."

"Even you can't be everywhere at once, Ashy-boy" Gary pointed out. "Now, are we just gonna sit up here and look, or should we get moving?"

Ash chuckled lightly. "Fair point" he said, moving his bone staff forward as the group made their way down the hill.

The paved sidewalk closer to all of the stores and battlefields was relatively devoid of people, so it was a clean shot down to the makeshift infirmary. Lots of bustling could be heard within the structure, but the outside was mostly calm.

Making their way around the tent, they eventually found the entrance, and walked inside. The inside of the large tent was actually quite peaceful, even if people were bustling around, running in and out of view quite frequently.

As they entered, a Nurse Joy who was sitting down inside stood up to greet them. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked, polite but so obviously exhausted.

Ash nodded. "We're looking for a friend who may have checked in here" he said. "He's a trainer from Sinnoh named Paul."

"Paul, huh?" the Nurse Joy asked, taking out a clipboard. Scanning a sheet of paper attached to the front, she nodded. "Yes, we do have a Paul recovering here. He's causing a bit of a ruckus, not wanting to rest at all."

"That's Paul all right" Dawn muttered. "Always the hard headed type."

"Sounds about right" Ash said. "Could you tell us where he is?"

"Sure thing" Nurse Joy nodded. She stepped back and pulled a sheet aside, revealing that the area was set up almost like a labyrinth, with white fabric for walls and carpeting covering the sand. "Head down that way" she said, pointing towards where the beach was. "He should be about seven spaces down on your left."

"Great, thank you for your help, Nurse Joy" May said.

Nurse Joy smiled wearily. "Any time. It's what I'm here for, after all." She stepped aside, clearing the way for them to pass.

Dawn and Gary led, with Brock, Max, Ash, and May following, Riolu and Pikachu by their side. Dawn kept an eye on the sheets, checking whenever they separated, looking for the area Paul was kept up in. Each room had a makeshift bed on a stretcher, and a patient in that bed. Some were banged up only slightly and complaining about wanting to go out already, while others were unconscious, burnt limbs present for the world to see.

Dawn pulled aside another sheet, then turned back to them with a smile. "Found him" she said cheerily, pulling the sheet open.

Inside, Paul was indeed lying on the bed. He looked like he had just been staring straight up, but he started at the sound of Dawn's voice, and raised his eyebrows as the group became visible to him. "What's this, a surprise party?" he grumbled.

Brock huffed. "It's good to see you too, Paul" he said.

Paul glanced around at the group. Dawn and Brock, he recognized. The two brunettes, not so much. Neither did he recognize the little kid with them. When he saw the figure in the dark cloak, he nodded slightly. "Aaron, glad to see you got out of that mess rather okay."

Ash shrugged. "Well, not really" he said. "I've been worse, but not often." He cocked an eyebrow at Paul. "So why are they keeping you here?"

Grunting, Paul shifted the blanket that was on him and revealed a cast that was on his left arm. "When that Hyper Beam detonated, it sent my Electivire crashing into me. Broken my arm." Shifting the blanket back with a small grunt, he looked back up. "Electivire's resting as well. Not his fault a rabid snow bird sent him into me."

"Well, I'm glad you got off easy" Ash sighed in relief. "There are much worse things than a broken arm."

"I'll say. A couple cracked ribs too, but they don't bother me as much" he said. "So, what's with the entourage? You got a little following ever since you fended off an Articuno?"

"Yeah, something like that" Ash said mysteriously. He was nervous when it came to returning to the others, but Paul, he felt like he could string him along for a bit. He didn't get much fun nowadays, anyways. "I must say, I'm really thankful that you tried to help stop Articuno, Paul. That was really brave of you."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Just my luck, the mystery trainer is a softie" he muttered.

"Does it make me a softie to acknowledge courage where it's due?" Ash asked.

"It's all in the delivery, Aaron" Paul countered.

Ash smirked. "Well, sorry Paul, but you know me, I tell it how it is. No beating around the bush."

Paul raised his eyebrows again. "I know you're either brave or crazy and that you have a Riolu and some crazy superhero-type powers. I wouldn't say I _know_ you if that's all I know of you."

"You know a little more about me than you think, Paul, you've just forgotten."

"I would think I would remember meeting some cape-wearing Saiyaman wannabe" Paul shot back.

The others watched this exchange between the two with interest. Brock was chuckling silently, while Dawn looked like she was about to explode, keeping herself from giggling. May and Gary were smirking, and Max had his face buried in his hands.

"You don't remember meeting the mask, but I'm pretty sure you remember who's behind the mask" Ash said, dropping all pretenses. Reaching up with his better hand, he grabbed his hat off his head and brought it down.

For a second, Paul looked confused, looking at him with the kind of look you get when you _know_ you know somebody, but can't remember. A brief flicker of recognition made itself apparent in his eyes, and he sighed, flopping back on the pillow. "Ketchum, you grave-dodging son of a…"

Ash finally laughed. "I expected a more extreme reaction out of you, Paul. It's not every day you find out that your assumed to be dead rival is still alive" he joked.

The rest of them cracked up as well, Dawn and Gary clapping each other on the shoulders while the laughed, while May giggled at the whole situation.. Ma sighed and shook his head, but he was grinning.

"I might react a little more if the so called 'doctors' here didn't have me on painkillers" Paul admitted, craning his head back up for a look at Ash. "Then again, this might be the painkillers talking. I'm pretty sure I remember a funeral."

"You went to my funeral?" Ash asked, shocked.

"You defeated me in battle, I owed you my respects" Paul grumbled. "Don't fuss about it."

"I didn't know he still had to act like such a hardass all the time…" Ash muttered over towards Dawn.

"He's mellowed out a bit, but Paul is Paul, and Paul isn't gonna change" Dawn whispered back.

Paul cleared his throat. "So, Ketchum, how is it that you managed to convince the world you were dead. And why would you want to do that?"

Ash twiddled with his hat somewhat nervously. "Well, let's suffice to say I wasn't planning on my death being faked, and I sort of had a job to do which meant I couldn

T go back to my old life" he tried to explain. Paul went to open his mouth, but Ash waved his hand. "I can't tell you everything, Paul, it's not just me involved."

"Then who else? Is this group of friends of your some sort of backup or something?" Paul asked.

May shook her head. "We weren't a part of Ash's world. We only found him last night, after he fell to Articuno." Ash noticed that her voice caught slightly when she said the name of the Pokemon. Clearing her throat, she just nodded. "That's how we met him again. We all used to be his friends before he left."

"I see…" Paul muttered. "I'd have to say, what are the odds that he, of all people, has an entire posse waiting for him the moment he slips up?"

Max blinked. "Now that you mention that…" he said slowly, glancing around. "That is quite improbable, all of us being here _and_ just happening the find Ash right then?"

…

"You two are just overthinking the whole thing" May chided. "You know, truth is stranger than fiction."

"Isn't that the truth… You wouldn't believe half of the things I've seen…" Ash tried to chuckle.

"You already told us, we believe you, Ash" May said.

Ash shook his head. "I told you some of the bigger events that have taken place, and some of the ones that had a major impact. I didn't tell you _everything_ that happened to me" he admitted.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Whatever, blah blah blah, mental scarring, trauma, stuff happened, whatever."

Ash let out a real laugh. "Glad to know you're someone up for emotional support, Paul."

"I never said I was" Paul replied cooly.

"Whatever" Ash shot back.

The banter between them wasn't as antagonistic as it had been back in their Sinnoh days, but it was safe to say that their relationship remained mostly the same.

"So Ketchum, I have to wonder, what kind of training did you have to go through to get your Pokemon so strong" Paul asked. "You've always had a different style than me, but it was never this noticeable. That thing behind your leg is going to be downright scary when it finally evolves."

Ash took a glance back at Riolu. "You know, we've talked about his evolution, but I never really considered what he'll be like when he turns into a Lucario." He turned back. "Did you?"

Riolu struck thinking pose. "Ri Rio" Riolu shrugged.

"You didn't answer my question" Paul pointed out.

"Oh yeah, sorry" Ash said. " _Worrying about strength, another Paul maneuver."_

"It's more a lifestyle than special training" Ash said. "My entire team consists of 8 partners, not to mention some… outside help." He wasn't sure how Paul would react about Mewtwo, or if Mewtwo wanted Paul to learn about him, so he remained vague. "Half of them are old friends that I know well. The other half are partners that joined me that I couldn't have more faith in. But it was really how we have to live, constantly training to survive, not just to get stronger, and to be good enough to do some of the things we've had to do."

Paul nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer. "Well, Ketchum, you better be feeling better sometime in the next week we have, because you're giving me a demo of what this training style can do in a real Pokemon battle."

Brock laughed. "I told you, Ash, you wouldn't get out of here without a challenge."

"Riolu needs time to recover. I'm sure Electivire needs some time too" Ash said. "And I'm not exactly super steady on my feet this moment either."

"I know that, I'm not an imbecile" Paul grumbled. "But for them, it shouldn't take but a few days. Pokemon recover notoriously fast when there aren't broken bones and severed flesh involved."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Ash agreed.

"Tell me where you're at, I'll track you down and we'll have a rematch when me and Electivire are on our feet" Paul suggested.

"Where I'm at?" Ash blanched. "I…" he stopped. He didn't know where he'd be at. As much as he wanted to be with May and the others, they had full houses as it was. "I…"

"He's staying with me" May said suddenly, to the great shock of the others in the room. Even Ash glanced back, surprised. "We've got an apartment in the area with our friends. It's in the high 300's."

"Which one?" Paul asked.

"Exact one slips my mind" May said evasively.

Ash blinked, not believing what May was doing. Was she really lying to just appease Paul? A brief moment of locking eyes, and he got the message from her. " _I'll explain in a bit."_

Paul huffed. "I'll just knock around when we get better if I can't figure out some other way to get in touch with you" he conceded. He looked around at the group. "Now, I'd love to chat and all, but I need to rest if these doctors are going to let me out anytime this year. So, if you don't mind…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear. "Right" Ash said. "We'll leave you be then."

Dawn and Gary, who had been closest to the exit, left the room first, Brock following them. Planting his bone in the ground, Ash made to follow May and Max out, before he heard something.

"And one last thing, Ketchum."

Ash glanced back to Paul, who was wearing the same serious expression he wore all the time in Sinnoh, not the relaxed one he had gotten from the drugs he was on. Locking eyes with the Chosen One, he gave a slight nod. "It's good to see you're alive."

Cracking a grin at his biggest rival, Ash nodded back. "Thanks Paul" he said. "Rest up, I can't wait to battle you again."

For the first time in three years, he felt a flicker of excitement at the thought of an upcoming battle.

Without another word, Ash left Paul's room.

* * *

As they re-emerged from the white canopy and back into the fresh air, Ash let out a sigh of relief. "Well, at least Paul is alright. It'll take more than that to keep him down" he said.

At this point, Dawn burst out giggling, causing a few confused looks to be cast at the bluenette. "Okay, what's got you so tickled?" Max asked.

Dawn shook her head. "Oh, nothing, it's just that I'm just now realizing, Ash kinda became a hardass like Paul" she giggled.

Snorting Brock glanced over at Ash. "You know, she's kind of right, Ash."

Ash blinked. "What? Me? I'm nothing like Paul is" he protested.

"You act cold and distant-"

"If you had seen what I've seen-"

"You are extremely confident in anything you do, even if you're in way over your head-"

"You think I was going into that battle with Articuno thinking I was gonna win-"

"Whatever you say, Ashy-boy, but she's got a point" Gary chuckled as Ash protested.

What was this, Ash Ketchum vs. the World? Ash sighed and looked down, barely catching his hat with his bone as it fell off his head. He obviously hadn't secured it back on top. Carefully placing it back, he looked up and rolled his eyes. "Whatever" he muttered.

"Dismissive…" Dawn said playfully.

Ash let out a low growl, just earning smiles from those around him. "Anyone else would have been terrified by that" he complained.

"Except we know you, and we kinda figured you made that sound with your stomach" Dawn said.

Ash just sighed. "I give up. I've had easier fights with Legendary Pokemon" he said.

"Yeah, you know you have" Dawn chuckled.

"Anyways…" Ash said, trying to shift the topic. "Who exactly all is here?" he asked. He really wanted to meet back up with all his friends. "You gave a little overview earlier, but I want to know everyone I know here."

"Well, you already saw Misty and Tracey" May began listing off. "You know about me, Max, Brock, Dawn, and Gary. You know about Tobias as well. All the Champions, Gym Leaders, and Frontier Brains from all the regions. I'm pretty sure the Orange League was included in that. I also met Barry here a couple days ago."

"I heard Ritchie is here too. He did really good, he actually beat Lucien of the Sinnoh Elite 4" Brock said. "Quite a few of your other old rivals too. Morrison, Harrison, and Tyson are here as well."

"I don't suppose you guys know about Cameron?" Ash asked.

"Er…" Brock looked back at the others, who were just as clueless. "No."

"He was a friend I made shortly before the Vertress Conference in Unova, I figured he would be here, but you probably haven't heard of him."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Ash" Brock apologised.

"No reason to be sorry, like I expect you to know everyone I've ever met" Ash chuckled.

"Speaking of Unova, Iris and Cilan made it here also" Dawn remembered. "I think we told you about them already, though."

"Yeah, I remember them" Ash assured. "Iris became Unova Champion, I heard."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, she really put the work in from the sound of it." She paused. "We might have a bit of trouble finding her, though, she's trying to stay out of sight to avoid all the attention."

Ash smiled. "Sounds like she's taking a leaf or two out of Diantha's book" he noted.

"That's pretty much the size of it" Dawn agreed. "Cilan might have an idea on where to find her, but I'm not sure where he is exactly either."

"I see…" Ash said. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I guess I know where to go first, then. I've got to apologize for something… Even if it puts me in mortal peril."

May blinked. "Mortal… Ooooooh…" what Ash meant dawned on her. "I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't be _that_ dangerous, she wouldn't try to-" she stopped as Ash started chuckling.

"May, I travelled with Misty for almost two years, trust me, she once nearly strangled me when I just came back from the dead" he said. "And I've been dead a couple times. Each time, yeah, I almost wasted my return."

"I'd have to agree with Ashy-boy on this one" Gary conceded. "I didn't spend nearly as much time around that fiery one, but that sounds pretty much spot on for her. I wouldn't count on him getting out of there in one piece."

Ash looked over to his old rival. "I know you're agreeing with me and all, but that's not exactly a vote of confidence" he told him. Gary merely shrugged in response. Ash huffed. "Not like I knew any different anyways, I guess. Come on, let's go, guys."

Planting the bone down hard, he pushed himself forward, just to be distracted by a bright flash of light and the ever familiar sound of a capsule bursting open. He looked to the source to find a rather large Arcanine standing beside Gary.

"Ash, from the sound of it, you got put through a blender, along with the ice, just a few hours ago" Gary pointed out. "We all know how much of a Paul you are-" Ash growled. "-And probably don't want any help, but come on, take it just a bit easy for now." He reached over and petted the Legendary Pokemon's head. "Arcanine will carry you, besides, we know where to go."

Ash gave Gary a look. "You say that like I _don't_ know where we're going" he said. "I know exactly where they are."

A thought flashed through May's mind, something she pieced together the previous night. "You were in the same house as them when you came here…" she remembered. She blinked. "Oh no, Ash, I'm not sure how much of a joke it was when you said this might be life threatening…"

Ash's confidence was diminishing rather quickly. "You know, maybe we should go find Cilan and Iris first, Misty and Tracey can come later-"

"Nope, you're committed, Arcanine, get him" Gary said suddenly, prompting the Fire-Type to sprint forward, diving under Ash and tossing him onto his back.

Ash staggered as the rather large Pokemon nudged him up and over. He grunted a bit as he fell down on his back, but Arcanine's fur cushioned the landing for him. Gary walked up, grinning. "Come on, big guy, let's go."

Before Ash managed to sit back up, Arcanine started trotting forward, the rest of the group surrounding them. Ash groaned as he pushed himself back up. He shot a glare downwards. "And here I was thinking that the reason I was going for a ride was to help stop me from getting hurt worse" he threatened.

"Keep talking, Ash" Gary rolled his eyes.

Ash glared at Gary, before huffing and getting himself more comfortable on top of Arcanine. He did his best to keep scowling, but was unable to keep it up when he felt a pleasant pressure on his arm as May reached up and squeezed him. Reaching up, he held her hand and squeezed back gently. He dropped his hand along with hers, keeping ahold of each other as Arcanine trotted along with the rest of them. It was peaceful.

"Hey Ash, I'd get a will started, just in ca-"

"Shut it, Gary."

* * *

 **So… Yeah…**

 **I'm really sorry guys. If I'm gonna be honest here, the entire chapter, besides the added note at the top and this, has been done for so many months I lost count. And at this point, I figured that a short update would be better than nothing.**

 **Recently, the words haven't been coming to me as easily, and to top onto that, I started a new project a while back that I have been much more engrossed in. So, on the rare occasion that I could actually come up with the words, most of my attention has been going there. The frustrating part is that I** _ **love**_ **to write, it's just not as easy anymore, and I don't know why.**

 **I'm trying to get back into writing shape, and I promise, I will be making efforts to create the next chapters for this story. The next few chapters may even be shorter meetings like this one, just to help me warm up, and I'm sorry for that too.**

 **Just know that I have no intentions of abandoning this story, okay? I never want to be that author that leaves a story unfinished. If I even change my mind and decide to drop this story, I will at least tell you guys, so you don't wait with false hope.**

 **I hope you all can forgive me, and I hope we'll see each other a lot sooner than we did last time.**


	15. Long Story Short

**Once again, please save knives, torches, pitchforks, and Gigavolt Havoc attacks until the end.**

Ash felt his heartbeat rise uncomfortably. It was a sensation he was used to by this point, but it was usually in the face of truly evil characters or rampaging Legendary Pokémon.

It was never to a door.

Arcanine trotted to a halt alongside the rest of them as they pulled up to the house that Ash had stayed in during his first bit of time on the island. And he really wasn't wanting to get off. Besides the fact that his body was still beaten, bruised and battered, what was waiting for him inside had him nearly frozen in apprehension.

"Alright, Ash, brace yourself" Gary said, slipping an arm under his shoulder.

"Brace mysel-?" Ash began to ask, when he suddenly fell. Arcanine disappeared in a flash of red light beneath him as Gary recalled him. Gary's hold on him prevented him from falling to the ground, but his knees had a little more pressure on them than he would have preferred as his feet hit the ground.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "You know, Gary, usually when you tell someone to brace themselves, you give them a chance to _brace themselves._ "

Gary shrugged. "Dude, you're a hardass, remember?"

"Stop calling me that!" Ash complained.

"Besides, from the sound of it, you're tough enough to stand a little shock" Gary finished.

Ash closed his eyes for a second. Gary wasn't wrong, his body had definitely endured far worse, like that overly affectionate Heatran he dealt with on Stark Mountain. But still, when his body was pushed to this point, it didn't exactly do him any favors to endure further strain. "...Whatever" he settled on, ending his pause.

The gem on his glove began glowing again as he formed another Bone Rush. Setting it to the ground, he felt some of the weight lift off of his body, and began to lean on it. He glanced back to the door lying before them. Inside, he was able to sense two human auras and a single Pokemon aura. It didn't take much to deduce, Tracey apparently didn't keep his Azumarill in her ball much, and the two human auras were easy enough to discern.

"Ash…" May's voice drew his attention away from the door. He turned his head to face her, locking eyes with the brunette. "I don't know what it's gonna be like in there either, but this needs to happen." She said it with such certainty, Ash suddenly felt a little guilty about his fear of going in. "Look, we know Misty can be a little…" She paused, trying to find the right word.

"Temperamental?" Max offered.

"Yeah, she's kinda temperamental" May nodded. "But, she was also one of your best friends, and when I saw her a few days ago, she didn't seem to be in any shape to be wanting to or able to swing that mallet of hers."

Ash, despite himself, let a small grin find its way onto his lips. He didn't like what he had done to hurt Misty, but her mallet had a lot of memories associated with it.

"Yeah, Misty's not a bad person, and I'm sure she wouldn't hit someone who's already injured" Dawn interjected. She looked a little uncertain. "I mean, I'm _pretty_ sure she wouldn't hit someone who's already injured."

"Smooth one, Dawn…" Max muttered.

Dawn shot the younger boy a glare. "The point is, Ash, that things are fine, you're gonna be fine."

"I know that" Ash admitted. "That doesn't keep my instincts from telling me to get across the world."

"Oh for the love of Arceus" Gary sighed, rapping on the door quickly. He turned around to face the group. "Now just stay put and let this happen, I'm not overly opposed to getting Blastoise out to restrain you, alright?"

May blanched, Brock, Dawn and Max raised their eyebrows, and Ash paled. He reflexively reached for his belt, only to realize that there were no Pokeballs on it. Kirlia was miles away. His mind was racing through the options, settling on setting out a distress signal to Mewtwo when the door opened.

He froze, and his cap tilted lower over his face as a young man wearing green came to the door. Tracey stopped as he opened the door, surveying the group. "Wait, May? Brock? Dawn? Max? What are all you doing…" he stopped talking as he looked towards Ash, who tried to make himself appear smaller. "A-Aaron, you're back-"

"Listen, is Misty in?" Gary cut him off. "We need to talk."

Tracey started at the sudden interruption. "Uh, yeah, she's inside, want me to go get her?" he asked.

Gary waved his hand. "We'll come in, if that's okay, she doesn't need to come out" he offered.

Tracey nodded. "Yeah, that's fine, let me just make sure Misty's ready for company" he said, retreating back inside.

Once Tracey was out of sight, Gary took a short bow, looking at Ash. "And it's that easy" he said simply.

Ash gaped at his old friend and rival, before his face morphed into a scowl. "Gary, I will club you over the head _so hard_ you'll forget you found me" he threatened.

Gary rolled his eyes, nonplussed by the threat of trauma. "Come on, you were gonna get in there anyways, I just ripped the bandage off."

"You probably took the stitches and cast with it too" Dawn interjected.

"And that was less of a rip and more of a severance" May added in.

Ash groaned inwardly. He did not need the stress of his friends bickering on top of the looming threat to his mortality. "Guys, can we just drop it?" he asked.

He was surprised by how quickly the argument ceased when he requested. With a raised eyebrow beneath his cap, he wondered why they had stopped so easily. After all, back in the old days, he was the go-to to ignore what he said.

There was a brief lull in the early morning atmosphere before approaching footsteps brought their attention back into focus. The gang looked up as Tracy reappeared in the doorway. "Hey, she's alright. Come on in, guys."

He opened the door wide and stepped back. Brock and Dawn lead the way in, Max right behind them, while Ash and May took up the rear, walking side by side inside. Tracey closed the door up behind them and trailed them into the main room.

May glanced sideways to Ash. She could almost tangibly feel the stress rolling off of him, every tense nerve. It was more than just the jokes about how violent Misty could be (though that was still a very realistic possibility). There was a real fear about reconnecting with one of his oldest friends after so long, not able to gauge what her reaction would be ahead of time.

She blinked, starting slightly. " _Wow, that was an oddly specific feeling…"_

The group rounded the corner, and the redhead came into view. She was definitely looking better than last time, face more full, skin tone more back to normal. She had worry lines under her eyes, but that was probably more from just surviving a Legendary Pokemon attack than anything. She visibly tensed when Ash entered the room, which was to be expected.

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room, Tracey being the one to break it. "Uh, go ahead and make yourselves at home, everyone, we've got plenty of space for, well, for everyone…"

They bustled around briefly, making for seats to rest themselves in. Ash lowered himself down tenderly, dissipating his Bone Rush once he was down. Once they were all settled, Misty cleared her throat. It sounded a little sore, but once she began talking, you wouldn't have been able to notice.

"Aaron, I'm really sorry about that night" she apologized, right out the gate. "I, I shouldn't have been going into your space without permission, it was kind of childish of me, and, I'm sorry for that."

There was another tangible shift in the atmosphere when she finished. She felt a feeling of surprise pervade the air, a bit of shock that Misty had opened first and with an apology. Gary was gaping at her, further selling the anomaly.

"I let my curiosity get the better of me, and, whatever you did, I felt a bit of what you were feeling, and I swear, if I had known even a part of that before, I wouldn't have even looked in like that."

Ash shifted slightly, tip of his cap raising ever so slightly. "I forgive you" he said, his voice a little deeper than normal, disguised ever so slightly. The words slipped out easily, sincerity matching her apology.

Misty relaxed at his acceptance. "I'm really glad. Do you-"

The redhead was interrupted when the male brunette of the group waved her down before she could continue. "He's not done yet, Misty, he's got something else to tell you."

The orbs upon Ash's gloves glowed threateningly, and May felt a twinge of annoyance herself. " _Gary Oak, I'll make sure Dawn punishes you later"_ she swore. While a push may have been necessary for the situation, Gary had been pushing far too hard since they arrived at their place…

Misty's relaxation also lessened in favor of a renewed tense state. Ash, similarly, froze, not even a muscle twitching. Dawn facepalmed in the corner, Max merely appeared uncomfortable, and Brock sighed.

On instinct, May reached over and gave Ash's arm a light squeeze, a gesture for comfort. To her surprise, Ash seemed to relax from almost the moment she made contact. Not fully, of course (she doubted even a full therapist's visit worth of calming words could get rid of the tension that currently existed), but he changed subtly, just enough so that May could tell the impact the support had on him.

A small breath emerged from the young man, as he reached up to grab the brim of his hat. "Try to maintain a level head" he said aloud. May couldn't tell whether he was talking to himself, Misty, or perhaps both of them, but with a flourishing motion, Ash pulled the hat off, leaving his face in clear view.

The two couldn't exactly be blamed for having a delayed reaction. At first, they just appeared confused, Ash's face had changed a good deal in his four year absence. Tracey's face was the first one to shift from bemused to, quite nearly alarmed. His mouth moved, but no words made it past his lips, his jaw working furiously to try and spit them out. Misty, a second behind Tracey, had recognition dawn in her rapidly widening eyes as she grew white as a sheet.

"Okay, guys, take a deep breath, calm down, rela-"

 **THUMP**

Misty's eyes rolled up into her head and her body sagged as she fainted, flopping down onto the couch she had been situated on. "That's not calm" Ash groaned, slapping a hand to his face.

Tracey managed to swallow, and sound found its way out. "A-Ash?" he asked tentatively.

Seeming thankful that at least one of the two of them hadn't collapsed, Ash nodded. "Sorry to drop a bomb this way, but we couldn't think of another way" he said with an apologetic undertone.

Tracey stumbled a tiny bit, catching himself. "You know… I might need to, sit down here…" he admitted, setting himself gently down onto the couch next to the unconscious redhead.

"Please do" Ash said, huffing slightly. "I was hoping that she'd take this a little… lighter."

"You mean more like a feather and less like a fat Groudon?" Max commented.

No answer was necessary. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Tracey cleared his throat. "So, uh… Ash?" He seemed to falter for a moment when Ash looked to him, though his gaze was far from one of hostility. Regaining his composure, he continued. "I, well, this is going to sound blunt, but-"

"You want to know how I'm alive and where I've been?" Ash asked.

Tracey cut off the stuttering word flow and nodded, causing Ash to crack a weary smile. "Well, I want to tell you, but it's a long story, and I'd prefer not to tell it twice here. You guys aren't the only ones who are going to be getting some answers today." He rested his arms on his knees. "Lets wait a little bit for Misty to recover, then I'll let you both in, alright?"

Tracey sighed. "I suppose that's fair" he managed to get out. He looked around. "Uh, can I get you guys anything to eat, or drink?" he offered, apparently trying to ease the tension down.

Gary and Brock simply shook their heads, waving off the offer. "Nah" Max responded. "It's been a little too exciting of a morning for that" May responded in turn.

Ash looked down at the pair by his feet. "You two need anything?" he asked.

"Rio" Riolu waved him off.

"Bika" Pikachu shook his head.

Ash nodded. "Looks like we're alright, Tracey, but thanks."

"Okay then" Tracey nodded. "Well…"

His attempt at conversation quickly petered out as they all fell silent again. The atmosphere became quite heavy as they all sat there quietly, all waiting for a certain redhead to wake up.

" _I'm not sure whether I prefer this over her getting her mallet out"_ Ash thought.

 **Yes, I know it's barely anything, and I deeply apologize. I swear to you all, I'm not trying to abandon the story. Rather, I am really looking forward to writing this thing all the way through. It's just… I kinda of lost my edge for Pokéfics along the line, I'm not sure how it happened. My Dragon Ball story practically cranks itself out, and I have equal interest in both of these. This one is just tougher to write.**

 **HOWEVER, that does not mean that I'm abandoning this story, AT ALL! I'll soldier through this as long as I can to make sure the next chapter is CLOSER to a proper length, and that it doesn't take 6 and a half months this next time.**

 **Once again, I am truly sorry for how long you had to wait for so little a reward. I hope I can make it up to you all in the coming months! If you need to launch a precision air Supersonic Skystrike, then so be it, but I'm very hopeful for the future. I have a feeling that these awkward moments are what's tripping me up. Once we get through this, I may be able to write faster again. Until then, I'll try my best for you all!**


	16. Resurface

**Once again, please refrain from firing Inferno Overdrives at my home until the end of the chapter. If it makes you feel better, you can charge them while you read.**

* * *

"-And so I needed to compete to save Mew" Ash finished up, taking a deep breath.

Misty had woken up a while back, and while Ash's chances are survival had been hit or miss for a few moments there, through the combined effort of all present, she was eventually gotten to calm down enough that Ash could explain himself to the pair.

Misty was a little more responsive than Tracey was during the story, the latter of whom still in a state of shock. While Misty was obviously shocked beyond belief as well, a sense of irritation cleared her mind, and her larger initial reaction had worked a good part of it out of her system.

Ash sat back as he finished up, and tried to untense. While he hadn't gone into nearly as much detail as he had initially among May and Brock, it was still stressful reliving it, though the burden felt lessened this time.

After a brief, somewhat uncomfortable silence, Misty cleared her throat. "You've… uh, been busy…" she muttered uncomfortably.

"That's one way of putting it" Ash said with a lighter tone.

The tension in the air defused slightly, and Tracey shifted a bit. "I… I'm really sorry, Ash."

Ash waved his hand. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked. "It's not like you did anything in this-"

"I did…"

Every eye in the room turned towards the redhead. Ash in particular looked confused. "Misty, what are you-?"

"I still remember that night, you know" Misty breathed. "I remember… how I blamed you, for taking May out onto the bluffs, and letting her fall…" She took a shaky breath. "I don't know, you always managed to never let anything happen to us when we travelled together, I just… didn't think anything could if you were there."

"Misty, I-"

"Let me finish, Ash" Misty cut him off. "You have no idea how bad I felt, knowing I attacked you for something that was hitting you much harder than it was me. And, all this time, I just wanted a chance to say… I'm sorry."

A slight snort sounded from the side of the room, and Misty was instantly glaring at the offending doctor, red faced in anger. "What?!" she barked.

"Well sorry Misty, it's just, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I can ever remember you saying sorry to Ash" Brock pointed out. "It took him coming back from the dead to make that happe-"

Brock flattened himself to the floor as Misty's mallet went flying overhead, and embedded itself in the wall directly behind where his head had been moments before.

"I don't think it's just that, Brock, she didn't apologize for anything after Gengar put my soul back in my body, so coming back from the dead isn't quite enough to get an apology from-"

Ash wasn't in such condition that he could move to flatten himself like Brock had. Luckily, when the book came sailing through the air, Riolu deflected it with a Force Palm, sending it into the ceiling.

Tracey blanched. "Misty, why are you simultaneously trying to hurt your friends and make us have to pay for repairs to this place?" he asked.

"I can't speak for repairs" Ash said, "but to be honest, I'm much more comfortable around 'ready-to-murder' Misty than how she was before."

At that, the tension broke, and the group completely cracked up. Whatever hung heavily in the air dispersed and lightened everyone's tense mood, as even Misty, the object of the joke, couldn't help but chuckle along with the rest of them. Pikachu and Riolu both relaxed more as the atmosphere lightened.

Tracey rubbed his shoulder as he chuckled. "You know, I realize that a poached Legendary Pokemon isn't exactly a good thing, but I'm glad for it, at least so far as it brought you back to us, Ash" he said. "To be honest, things haven't been the same with you gone."

"And I'm really sorry about that, Tracey" Ash apologized. "I-"

Tracey waved him off, interrupting him. "Hey, just because it wasn't great for us doesn't mean you have to apologize. You spent the last few years being some sort of awesome world saving vigilante, going around and basically stopping cataclysms. That doesn't sound like something you should be sorry for."

"I mean, maybe a little sorry…" Misty huffed. "I'm glad you did a lot of good, I just wish we could have not been, you know, mourning you for that time."

"I agree with that…" May admitted, resting her head gently on Ash's shoulder. "I know why, I just wish I could go back and change that night somehow so all this didn't have to happen."

Ash let a smallest of smiles grace his tired face. "I'm really sorry for that" he said. "To all of you."

"Pikachu, Pika Pika Bi?" Pikachu chirped.

"Yes, of course that includes you, Pikachu" Ash chuckled, reaching down to scratch the small electric mouse Pokemon on the head.

"Chaaaaaaaaaa" Pikachu squealed contentedly.

"Yeah, but we can't really change that now" Gary said, bringing back a focus to the group. He smiled a bit too, it was hard not to. After the initial shock, basically everyone in the group had euphoria flowing through their veins. But, his was also mixed with a much more serious expression. "We know why Ash is here, and to be honest, it's sounding like there's a lot on the line. I think we need to be figuring out ways to help him."

"It's really just a tournament, Gary, I'm not sure exactly all we could do to help him more than compete to the best of our abilities" May pointed out. She was quite confident in her battling abilities after having trained them the last few years. "Can we even do anything besides that?" she asked as she looked up at the Chosen One in question.

Ash shook his head. "No, I don't think so" he admitted. "We can't break Mew free, that'll set off way too many red lights around here. And security has been tightened even since Team Rocket broke into the island yesterday, according to Mewtwo."

"Speaking of Rocket, isn't Mewtwo supposed to be one of their creations?" Brock asked. "I know that capturing Mew could be really bad, for Mew, Mewtwo, and the Tree of Beginning, but Mewtwo isn't exactly a deity Legendary. What makes Team Rocket so dangerous from catching Mew?"

Ash rubbed his temple. "Well, it's something me and Mewtwo have really just been speculating on. Honestly, it's less important than saving them and all the Pokemon there at Rota." His gaze hardened. "But, Team Rocket was able to first develop Mewtwo with nothing but a fossilized eyebrow from an ancient Mew. If they could capture a living one, the DNA would be completely fresh. Mewtwo may not be on the same level of a deity Pokemon, but if they have fresh DNA for the ancestor to all Pokemon…" he left that to hang in the air.

"...Then the creation would be all the more powerful" Brock realized.

Ash nodded. "Mewtwo said he has limits that physically, he feels like he shouldn't have" he revealed. "Mew is perhaps the most flexible species in the world, and Mew even knows just about every move out there. Mewtwo was created with battle in mind, but he doesn't have that same flexibility. Team Rocket might not only be able to create a Pokemon loyal to them this time, but also give it the same level of freedom Mew has, with the battle power of Mewtwo."

"This is, of course, a worst case scenario" a new voice entered the group, shocking most of those present.

There was a brief flash of purple light within the center of the room as two figures flashed into existence. Mewtwo and Latias, in her human cloaked form, made their presence known. Ignoring the gasps of shock, Mewtwo turned to look at all them. "I refuse to allow for even an opportunity to let the organization gain a firmer grasp on the world. Much of the criminal underworld is already influenced by them, and those who make trouble in other regions are often connected somehow."

"Kinda makes you miss the days where the extent we saw of Team Rocket were those three goofballs" Brock admitted, recovering from his shock faster. Ash couldn't help but agree.

"It's speculation, but it also serves as an extra reason we cannot allow ourselves to fail on this mission" Mewtwo said.

Max's brow furrowed. "Hey, if winning all this is so important, then why don't you fight on Ash's team?" he asked. Looking at the raven haired trainer, he raised his hands. "Not that your team isn't super strong as it is, but if you can't take any risks, wouldn't having Mewtwo fight for you be an edge you can't pass up."

Max's knowledge had only grown since he became a trainer himself, and it showed itself. "Mewtwo is our trump card" Ash said.

"I don't need to be inside one of those infernal contraptions for him to call on me should I be required in the tournament" Mewtwo added. "I don't see my battling assistance being necessary until the brackets narrow, however…"

Ash shook his head. "Hopefully not. It's not going to be easy though. I trust in everyone on my team. I could probably defeat an Elite if I knew them, but any Champions would be too much."

A solemn tone fell over the group. "Well… I suppose that's why we can help by trying to last as long as we can" Misty finally spoke, adding in her thoughts on the conversation. As eyes focused on her, she continued. "We're not the strongest, but most of us are good trainers. I mean, me and Brock are, or were, Gym Leaders. We don't have to win the tournament for you, but the more spots we can fill the longer things go on, the more we can take off of your plate."

Ash nodded, the gratitude in his chest expanding. "I… I'm really sorry" he said. "For everything. For those years, and for putting this much stress on you now. But I-"

"Ash, you've saved us, helped us out, and not to mention saved the world at least a good dozen times, and that was before you went off and became a badass vigilante" Gary pointed out, his description at the end much to his target's chagrin. "Please, I came to this island to get a break from my research and find a bit of my old battling spirit again, you're just giving me a reason to pick up a few more pieces of it."

May hugged Ash as tight as she could without further hurting him. "If I could have been more careful, maybe we could have avoided any of this" she said, light tones of sorrow fragmented in her voice. She placed a finger to Ash's mouth as he began to open it, and shook her head. "It wasn't your fault any more than it was mine, Ash. I wanted to make sure I could pay you back for when you literally gave up everything for me. Even though you're back, you still gave all of that, so I'm not going to abandon you now."

"Same here, Ash" Brock said, giving his friend a thumbs up. "You're my best friend, so it wouldn't exactly be anywhere remotely near cool of me to leave you now."

"It's not cool of me to be dropping all this on you guys either…" Ash pointed out. "I wouldn't if I-"

"Ash, you aren't going to get rid of us or make us think of this as a chore anytime soon, so I'd drop the effort" Dawn cut him off with a smirk.

"But you're not even competing…"

"Neither are you, not anymore. Ash kicked your can."

"Oh come on, that's a low blow and you know it!"

Ash glanced sideways to the brunette draped on his arm. "Is it just me, or does Dawn argue with Max more than you do nowadays?" he muttered.

"They started getting on each other's nerves a while back" May whispered back. "It's been a short fuse since then."

Brock chuckled in agreement, and the aforementioned duo was too involved in their bickering to notice. There was a disgruntled noise from Mewtwo, something about human foolishness, and the Pokemon in the room were relaxing.

Well, most of them were.

"Lu!" Riolu barked, tugging on Ash's pant leg. "Rio! Riolu!"

Ash blinked. Eyes flashing blue for a second, he locked eyes with his partner. "What is it, Riolu?" he asked, unnerving those in the room not familiar with how his Aural abilities looked.

"Lulu Rio" Riolu barked again, raising a palm up. "Olu!"

The pace at which Ash's brow furrowed didn't do much to put those in the room at ease, neither did the sudden lashing of Mewtwo's tail. "How fast?" Ash asked.

May shook his shoulder gently. "Ash, what is it, you're scaring me" she admitted. "What's happening?"

Ash didn't show much sign that he heard her, only a short wave of his hand. "Oluo, Ro Rio."

"The young one states that he senses a rather powerful cluster of Auras approaching rapidly" Mewtwo filled in to those that couldn't understand the conversation. "Normally, it wouldn't be of much concern. This region of the world is rife with powerful beings, several Legends reside nearby. But given the circumstances, it wouldn't hurt for one to be on guard."

The blue light faded from Ash's eyes, and he made to look at Mewtwo. "Especially when they seem to be making a beeline straight for us" he added on.

Brock was the first to pick up on something. "Ash, you… don't really seem that worried" he said, an edge to his own voice. "Do you have a plan or something?"

"Eh?" Ash asked, the room coming back into focus for him. "Oh, sorry. No, if a Legendary attacks again, it's going to be a bit harder to fight it off" he said. "Especially if Team Rocket were to lock our Pokeballs again."

"Then why aren't you showing any worry? It's really putting me off" Dawn admitted.

Ash furrowed his brow. "Riolu says that the Auras feel familiar" he said. "But he doesn't know exactly who or what it is, which is a little worrying" he admitted. "But a lot of the Pokemon we've had bad times with were usually out of control, and not vicious…" he looked at Mewtwo. "How long is the cycle for the Cocoon of Destruction again?" he asked.

"A millenia, nothing you or any of your descendants should have to bother with" Mewtwo said.

"Alright… I'm not sure Yveltal is really a vengeful Pokemon either, just doing its job, but I had to make sure" Ash said.

"Ri!" Riolu barked again.

"We should probably attempt to meet whatever is coming, friend or foe, outside. An indoor confrontation wouldn't end as well" Mewtwo noted.

"Yeah, we've got enough damage here as is" Tracey said shakily, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

Ash smiled at the attempt, before forming the glowing staff of his choice in his hands. He moved faster than anyone could react, the door open before they moved after him. Pikachu and Riolu were with him, while Mewtwo and Latias had teleported ahead.

"I think… three?" Ash thought aloud, eyes closed as the others gathered on the porch. "Two of them are the same, one of them is really familiar…" He slowly opened his eyes, the blue glow fading from them.

Sparks leapt from Pikachu's cheeks while Riolu took up a sharp aura field around it, sign of an Aura Link with his trainer. Powerful purple blades extended from Mewtwo's arms, humming with energy, and Ash moved to create an Aura Sphere.

A moment passed, and Ash jolted, giving a short gasp of surprise. "Ash!?" May cried out, running down.

"Wait!" Ash called, stopping her in her tracks. His body was tensed, but he was grinning. "No, it's… hrk, it's fine" he said.

"You say that, but you look far from fine" Brock said, worried himself.

"No, seriously" Ash said, hunching over. "Honestly, this is great."

"Okay guys, Ash is losing it down there, he needs-" Gary began to say, before firmly cut off by the purple Mew clone.

"No, Ash is in no state of danger" Mewtwo said, his Psycho Cut attack fading as well. "I may not be inclined to Aura sense, but even I can sense the presence of a fellow legend."

"A Legendary Pokemon? Which one?!" Max asked.

No answer was given, not a verbal one. But the group was visibly surprised when green bursts of light exploded from the ground, flying upwards, forming together in the air. The sparks on Pikachu's cheeks violently increased, but the other three down there appeared… rather calm. "It's fine, Pikachu" Ash said, body tensed, but no longer racked. "Actually, I think you're about to meet a new friend."

The green light in the air faded, and split into two, falling to the ground as the physical creature within began to become recognizable.

At least, recognizable as a physical being.

"What... what is that thing?" Max asked.

"I'm going to ask that all of you stay put. These two don't exactly have the fondest of trust in humans" Mewtwo warned, falling to a kneeling position, shocking everyone present.

Two quadruped Pokemon approached. Canine in appearance, with a mostly black body, edged with green, and pure white eyes. One with a red hexagonal shape on its chest, the other blue. Ash too attempted to kneel, before a rich voice emanated from the red one. " **There is no need for that, Chosen One."**

"I can't show a little respect to one of the most important figures in the world?" Ash asked, chuckling. Inwardly, a little glad he wouldn't have to kneel with his injuries.

The blue marked one drew closer. " **Your Aura is weakened. Is your condition dangerous?"** it asked. " **Are those humans responsible for your condition?"** it followed up, a dangerous edge to its voice.

"No, not at all, these are my friends" Ash clarified. With a grunt, he began to lean more heavily on his staff. "I'm not strong right now though, not enough for this."

" **You must understand, he only wished to join us sooner, in case a rescue attempt was necessary"** the red one answered.

Ash chuckled. "Diligent as always…" he said, as the familiar aura drew near. "It's been far too long…"

A flash of blue, moving at blinding speeds, leapt from the hole in the ground left by the emerging Legendary Pokemon, catching the eye of all those present. "Wait, what's that Pokemon doing here?" Max asked.

The blue Pokemon hit the ground between the two Legendary Pokemon. "I don't recognize that species" Dawn said.

"They're rare, and not from around here" Gary said.

"Yeah, but I've never seen one that looks like that before" Brock added in.

Ash smiled. "Greninja" he spoke warmly.

A sharp, but friendly gaze met his own. "Kou!" Greninja announced itself.

"Transformed as soon as he was in range enough to synchronize with you" Mewtwo said, rising from his prior position. "However, when his stamina is low and his body is weak, the process might cause it to give out" he sharply chided the froglike Pokemon.

Greninja changed its focus to Mewtwo. "Gekkou" he nodded, a blue light enveloping him as his form changed back, reverting from what it had been prior, now indistinguishable in appearance from the average member of its species. Ash felt the tension rise from his body, and his breathing came easier immediately.

"Thanks, Greninja" he said simply.

" **Stay back!"** a sudden bark exuded from the blue marked Pokemon, snapping Ash's attention away from his partner and to his very frightened… well, partner.

"Leave May be, she's perfectly fine here" Ash said sharply. "All of them are."

" **You do realize he said everyone there was his friend, don't you?"** the red one noted.

A growl was the only response from the blue one, but he didn't object again as May drew closer to Ash. "What's going on?" she asked as she got there. "What happened to you just now, are you alright?"

Ash chuckled. "I'm fine, Mom" he said. "Everything's fine."

"You say that, but we're still in the dark here" Max called from the porch. "What are those two anyways? I've never even heard of a Legendary Pokemon that looks like that."

"I'd watch your tone if I were you" Mewtwo addressed the youngest member of the group harshly, surprising Max.

" **Only Blue here cares about all that"** the red one noted.

" **Shut it, Red"** Blue barked back.

Ash sighed. "Conflicted as ever" he muttered. "These two are Zygarde" he told Max. "The Legendary Pokemon responsible for keeping watch and balance over the entire world as a whole."

"And two of the strongest beings in existence" Mewtwo added solemnly, acknowledging their might. "Overshadowed only by the Creation Trio and Arceus themselves."

"Zygarde? Wait, didn't you mention something about Zygarde earlier, Ash?" May asked him.

"I've run in with Zygarde a lot of times" Ash said. "Our jobs are the same, quite a bit of the time, so we've kind of become friends."

" **Comrades"** Blue scoffed.

" **I think we can call him a friend"** Red pushed.

"Are you two ever going to agree on something?" Ash asked. "I swear, Blue, I thought you got over your distrust of everything after the Kalos Crisis."

" **I've seen a lot since then too"** Blue shot back.

"All that aside, I don't suppose you want to tell us why you've arrived, here, and now of all the times and places" Mewtwo asked. "We aren't exactly anywhere near your usual patrol routes, and as I recall, there aren't many cells scattered around this part of the world."

"Yeah, I got to say, I always like seeing you guys, and it's great to see Greninja again, but why are you guys here?" Ash asked.

" **We've got a couple reasons, actually"** Red offered.

"And I think we've got time" Ash said. "What's going on?"

* * *

 **GAH!**

 **Okay, guys, I'm so terribly sorry this took so long. This is probably frustrating me AT LEAST as much as it frustrates you. I love this story, I love writing it, and I've got a plan for it. But, after all these months, the stupid writer's block I have when it comes to THIS story in particular refuses to lift. I don't want to give up, not by a long shot, and I don't plan to. I'm just so sorry you have to wait half a year for some poorly written short chapter.**

 **Self pity aside, I really am sorry for the wait. I said last time that I wanted it to be closer to a proper length and not take six and a half months. And while I technically succeeded, another thousand words and downgrading to a five month wait period isn't much better. I apologize for that. I mean it when I say I want to write and have it mapped out on where I want this story to go, it's just not coming to me at all lately.**

 **Once again, I can't stress enough that I don't have any plans to drop this story completely any time soon. I'm hopeful that if I can get over this hump, it'll start flowing naturally to me again. We'll see.**

 **Anyways, about the content of the story itself. Greninja is here. If you're wondering how he even exists, even though Ash's path diverted from the main storyline prior to Kalos, well, I'll explain how next time. A lot of it was kind of for me, Ash's Greninja was my favorite Pokemon, and I wanted him to have a place in this story.**

 **The two Zygarde are also here. I decided to forgo the names Squishy and Z2, since those were applied by Bonnie and Team Flare respectively. I realize that Red and Blue aren't the most creative names to replace them, but they're easy to remember and identify. Zygarde's Red Core and Zygarde's Blue Core. Red, of course, being Squishy, and Blue being Z2, the one distrustful of humans, which serves as reasoning for his pessimistic attitude.**

 **I want to try to gloss over the explanations next time so we can get the ball rolling again. I'll try to make it not take such an absurdly long time next time… I'll try. We see how my last attempt turned out, all I can do is promise I'll try.**

 **In the meantime, that's all for now. I apologize once again, and hope to see you all MUCH SOONER next time!**


End file.
